$B    3bl    217 


JAPANESE 
SWORD    GUARDS 


MUSEUM     OF     FINE     ARTS 
BOSTON 


MUSEUM  •  OF 
FINE-  ARTS 
BOSTON  ** 


JAPANESE    SWORD   GUARDS 

BY   OKABE-KAKUYA 


IN    CO-OPERATION    WITH    THE    DEPARTMENT 
OF    CHINESE   AND    JAPANESE   ART 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


THE  following  catalogue  of  a  special  exhibition 
( 1907-1908  )  of  Japanese  sword  guards,  or  tsuba, 
has  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Okabe-Kakuya.  To 
our  knowledge  it  is  the  first  attempt  to  treat  the  history 
of  the  tsuba  and  tsuba  makers  apart  from  the  other 
branches  of  metal  work  which  enter  into  the  orna- 
mentation of  the  Japanese  sword. 

Of  the  three  sections  into  which  the  book  is 
divided,  the  first  gives  a  brief  general  history  of  the 
art,  specifying  the  different  periods  in  which  the  artists 
worked,  the  various  circumstances  and  influences  which 
from  time  to  time  caused  new  developments  of  form 
and  material,  and  the  results  due  to  these  changes. 
The  illustrations  in  this  section  are  reproductions  of 
drawings  by  Mr.  Okabe  from  woodcuts  in  the  Japanese 
books  at  the  Museum.  The  second  section  consists  of 
an  alphabetical  list  of  the  more  important  schools  of 
tsuba  makers.  The  list  of  names  given  is  strictly  con- 
fined to  those  of  men  who  actually  made  tsuba,  and 
does  not  include  artists  who  worked  only  in  other 
forms  of  metal  work.  The  third  section  serves  as  a 
guide  to  the  present  exhibition.  It  is  accompanied 
with  half-tone  plates  giving  typical  illustrations  of 
various  schools  and  artists.  In  instances  where  the 
execution,  design,  or  material  is  of  particular  interest, 
special  notes  have  been  added. 

Mr.  Okabe  was  assistant  professor  of  metal  work  at 
the  Imperial  Art  School  of  Tokyo  under  the  late 
Kano-Natsuo,  one  of  the  most  noted  metal  artists  of 
recent  times,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  Nippon- 
Bijitsuin.  His  work  has  been  honored  by  medals  at 
various  expositions.     During  his  six  years'  association 


M7G57G3 


iv  PREFATORY  NOTE 

with  Kano-Natsuo  he  had  exceptional  advantages  for 
study,  and  took  many  notes  from  talks  and  lectures  by 
the  Master.  In  1899  Mr.  Okabe  wrote  a  series  of 
articles  on  metal  work,  based  on  this  material  in  the 
Nippon-Bijitsu.  These  articles  gave  a  new  presenta- 
tion of  the  subject  from  the  artist's  point  of  view,  and 
have  been  acknowledged  as  a  valuable  contribution  to 
the  history  of  art. 

For  the  last  three  years  Mr.  Okabe  has  been  in 
charge  of  the  metal  work  at  the  Museum,  studying  the 
collection,  cataloguing  it,  and  putting  the  objects  into 
good  condition.  The  tsuba  shown  in  this  special  exhi- 
bition have  been  selected  by  Mr.  Okabe  from  the 
collections  of  Dr.  Bigelow,  Dr.  Weld,  and  Dr.  Ross, 
which  together  comprise  more  than  one  thousand  two 
hundred  tsuba.  To  these  have  been  added  many 
valuable  specimens  kindly  loaned  by  Miss  Louise  M. 
Nathurst,  of  Boston;  Mrs.  Russell  Robb,  of  Concord; 
Mr.  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr.,  of  New  York;  and 
Mr.  J.  H.  Donahey,  of  Cleveland. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  Mr.  Okabe  has 
found  the  following  Japanese  books  very  useful : 

Ansaizuihitsu,  by  Ise-Teijo. 

Dainihon-Bizutsuriakushi,  Imperial    Museum    of 
Tokyo. 

Sankofuriaku    ( Kinkotsubayose ),     by     Kurihara- 
Nobumitsu. 

Sokenkisho,  by  Inaba-Tsurio. 

Kokon  Kanteibenran,  by  Nishizawa. 

Kokon  Kajibiko,  by  Yamada-Yoshimutsu. 

Manpozensho,  by  Kikumoto-Kohosai. 

Bukisodekagami,  by  Kurihara-Nobumitsu. 


PREFATORY  NOTE  v 

Bukemeimokusho,  by  Arai-Kunbi. 
Koto-Kinkomeifu,  by  Noda-Yoshiaki. 
Kiyu  Shoran,  by  Kitamura-Nobuyo. 
Riuanzappitsu,  by  Kurihara-Nobumitsu. 
Among    European    publications,    Die   Meister  der 
Japanischen  Schwertzierathen,  by  S.  Hara,  and  Japanische 
Schwertzierathen,  by  Gustave  Jacoby,  contain  admirable 
studies  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Okabe  desires  to  acknowledge  the  shortcom- 
ings of  his  essay,  particularly  the  incompleteness  in 
names  and  dates,  inasmuch  as  the  library  at  his  com- 
mand in  America  has  been  necessarily  a  limited  one. 

To  Miss  Margarette  W.  Brooks  is  due  the  index 
and  assistance  in  correcting  the  proof. 

The  spelling  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  words  follows 
accepted  standards  except  in  a  few  cases  (for  example, 
Choshiu  instead  of  Choshu),  where  a  change  has 
seemed  desirable. 

OKAKURA-KAKUZO. 
February,   1908. 


SECTION   I 

A  brief  description  of  the  tsuba  of  different  periods, 
together  with  an  account  of  the  political  and  social 
changes  which  from  time  to  time  caused  new  develop- 
ments in  the  art  of  tsuba  making. 


HISTORIC  J  L  ACCOUNT  3 

UNLIKE  the  early  Chinese  and  European  sword 
guards,  which  ordinarily  are  wrought  into  the 
blade,  the  Japanese  tsuba  is  a  distinctly  sepa- 
rate piece  of  metal,  and  therefore,  although  closely 
connected  in  form  and  decoration  with  other  adjuncts 
of   the   weapon,    may   be   to   a    certain    extent    con- 


Ear/y  Chinese  iron  swords 


sidered  by  itself.  Primarily  we  have  to  consider  the 
tsuba  in  its  general  relation  to  swordsmanship  and 
warfare,  remembering  the  restrictions  placed  upon  it 
by  the  shape,  length,  and  weight  of  the  weapon  to 
which  it  was  a  necessary  adjunct.  The  tsuba  had  to 
be  of  suitable  size  and  form  to  protect  the  hand,  strong 
to  withstand  impact,  and  yet  light  enough  not  to  inter- 
fere with  the  proper  balance  of  the  sword.  In  the 
peaceful  days  of  the  Tokugawa  Shogunate  (1603- 
1868),  however,  when  the  sword  became  more  an 
object  of  ornament  than  of  use,  many  of  these  restric- 
tions were  no  longer  heeded  and  new  factors  entered 
into  the  determination  of  its  shape,  material,  etc.  For 
instance,  the  strict  etiquette  of  that  age  imposed,  accord- 
ing to  social  position,  the  exact  manner  in  which  the 
sword  should  be  worn,  which  in  turn  necessitated  cer- 
tain modifications  in  the  tsuba.  At  the  same  time 
the  swords  (and  with  them  the  tsuba)  of  the  Mikado's 


4  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

court  at  Kyoto  differed  from  those  of  the  Tokugawa 
aristocracy  at  Yedo,  as  well  as  from  the  shorter  swords 
which  commoners  were  privileged  to  wear  on  certain 
occasions.  The  use  of  gold  in  its  decoration  was  at 
one  time  strictly  forbidden  to  all  below  the  rank  of 
samurai.  Local  custom  again  often  dictated  the  style 
of  tsuba  worn;  thus  it  is  not  difficult  for  any  one 
slightly  acquainted  with  the  subject  to  recognize  the 
guards  made  in  certain  daimyates. 

Everything  which  pertained  to  the  sword  was 
regarded  with  reverence  by  the  samurai.  The  adora- 
tion of  the  blade,  common  to  almost  all  ancient  races, 
never  perhaps  attained  so  high  a  significance  or  found 
such  artistic  expression  as  among  the  Japanese.  When 
the  ruler  of  the  sea,  brother  of  the  Sun  Goddess,  slew 
the  great  dragon  whose  devastations  spread  terror 
through  the  land,  he  took  from  its  tail  a  wonderful 
sword  which  his  sister  bestowed,  together  with  the 
mirror  and  the  jewel,  upon  her  grandson,  founder  of 
the  Imperial  line  of  Japan.  Of  these  three  divine 
gifts,  which  together  constitute  the  regalia  of  the 
Island  Empire,  the  dragon  sword  is  preserved  at  the 
time-honored  Shinto  shrine  of  Atsuta.  To  this  shrine, 
as  to  the  shrine  at  Isonokami,  where  rests  the  sword 
of  the  Sea  God,  thousands  of  pilgrims  come  yearly  to 
pay  homage. 

With  the  introduction  of  Zen  modes  of  thought 
during  the  Kamakura  (1190-1337)  and  Ashikaga 
(1 337-1 582)  periods,  the  samurai  embodied  in  the 
sword  their  supreme  conception  of  honor  and  man- 
hood. In  the  icy  steel,  born  of  fire,  they  saw  revealed 
the  mystery  of  Life,  indivisible  from  that  of  Death. 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  5 

Its  serenity  taught  them  the  virtue  of  that  self-control 
which  calmly  prepares  for  a  mighty  struggle.  In  the 
unclouded  face  of  the  crystalline  blade  they  beheld 
mirrored  the  purity  and  chastity  inseparable  from 
true  loyalty.  The  most  precious  dowry  a  bride  could 
bring  to  a  samurai  was  the  honored  sword  of  her 
ancestors,  while  many  an  old  Japanese  drama  is  based 
on  the  quest  and  recovery  of  some  lost  blade.  His 
sword  was  a  part  of  the  samurai's  own  personality,  and 
people  were  wont  to  judge  his  character  from  that  of 
his  weapon.  It  is  related  that  once  Taiko-Hideyoshi, 
the  Japanese  Napoleon,  saw  the  swords  of  his  generals 
lying  on  a  rack  in  the  antechamber  of  his  palace,  and 
so  expressive  was  their  individuality  that  he  at  once 
recognized  to  whom  each  belonged.  Next  in  impor- 
tance to  the  blade  itself  came  the  tsuba  and  the 
menuki,  the  central  stud  on  the  hilt.  To  illustrate 
the  frame  of  mind  in  which  the  Kamakura  knights 
approached  the  tsuba,  we  may  cite  their  custom  of 
having  it  consecrated  by  the  holy  fathers  of  the  Bud- 
dhist Church. 


The  word  tsuba  is  an  abbreviation  of  the  classic 
tsumiba,  signifying  an  object  which  "clinches  the 
blade,"  while  its  derivatives,  tsubamono  or  tsuhamono 
(something  possessing  a  tsuba),  came  to  be  used  not 
only  for  the  sword  itself  but  for  weapons  in  general, 
and  still  later  for  a  man-at-arms. 

As  it  emerges  from  the  darkness  of  the  unknown 
into  the  twilight  of  mythology,  we  find  the  Japanese 
race  armed  with  a  sword  of  which  the  tsuba  forms  an 


6  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

important  accessory.  In  the  legendary  creation  of  the 
world  it  is  related  that  the  Primeval  Mother,  after 
bearing  the  Sun  Goddess,  the  Moon  God,  and  other 
deities,  expired  in  the  act  of  giving  birth  to  the  Fire 
God.  The  Primeval  Father,  whose  mighty  sobs 
created  the  Goddess  Echo,  at  last  in  a  frenzy  of  grief 
drew  his  sword  and  killed  the  unhappy  cause  of  his 
suffering.  From  the  hewn  body  of  the  slain  God 
rose  the  mountains ;  volcanoes  sprang  from  his  welling 
blood;  of  the  gory  drops  which  bespattered  the 
Father's  tsuba  were  born  a  race  of  war  gods,  through 
whose  achievements  came  to  the  descendants  of  the  Sun 
Goddess  sway  over  the  Island  Empire. 

Many  examples  of  the  early  Japanese  sword  have 
been  recovered  from  ancient  tombs.  The  blade  is 
straight   (see    Fig.    2),    the    hilt    and    scabbard   being 


Fig  2    Early  Japanese  sword 


covered  by  a  thin  layer  of  gilt  copper,  decorated  with 
dotted  patterns.  It  has  a  large  ball-shaped  pommel, 
"hammer-headed"  as  described  in  early  records.  So 
far  as  we  are  aware,  no  swords  of  this  description  have 
been  found  in  China  or  adjacent  countries.  It  may 
perhaps  furnish  a  helpful  clue  in  tracing  the  origin  of 
the  Japanese  race. 

The  tsuba  which  belongs  to  this  sword  is  of  unrefined 
copper,  heavily  gilt.  It  is  ovate  (see  Fig.  3),  to 
correspond  with   the  form  of  the  closed  hand.     It  is 


HISTORIC  J  L  ACCOUNT  7 

lightened  and  at  the  same  time  decorated  by  symmet- 
rical perforations  executed  with  the  chisel.  It  shows 
even  at  this  early  period  an  almost  perfect  combination 
of  the  three  essential  qualities  of  the  tsuba,  strength, 
lightness,  and  appropriate  form.  It  is  interesting  to 
notice  in  this  connection  the  part  which  the  blade 
plays  in  the  shape  of  the  tsuba.  The  central  opening, 
through  which  the  tang  of  the  blade  was  inserted  into 
the  hilt,  is  wider  in  this  case  ( Fig.  3 )  than  in  a  tsuba 
of  a  slightly  later  period  (Fig.  4),  and  its  greatest 
width  is  in  the  middle.     The  shape  of  this   opening 


Fig  3    Early  tsuba         Fig  4    Early  tsuba 

indicates  that  the  blade  in  the  former  was  thicker 
and  probably  double-edged,  while  the  latter  was 
thinner  and  one-edged,  since  the  lines  of  the  tsuba 
were  designed  to  conform  to  the  blade  itself. 

Contact  with  the  then  superior  civilization  of  China 
profoundly  influenced  the  Japanese  and  led  to  the  imi- 
tation of  Celestial  customs  and  art.  The  type  of  the 
sword  from  the  sixth  century  on  was  quite  Chinese  in 
character,  the  tsuba  becoming  practically  a  mere  orna- 
mental adjunct  of  the  hilt.     The  habaki,  a  metal  collar 


8  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

placed  between  the  tang  and  blade  in  order 
to  hold  the  tsuba  more  firmly  in  position, 
seems  to  have  been  of  Chinese  origin. 
To  judge  from  the  specimens  in  the  Im- 
perial Collection  of  Shosoin  at  Nara,  about 
the  eighth  century  Japan  developed  new 
types  of  tsuba  based  on  those  of  the  Tang 
sword.  Fig.  5  shows  one  of  these  swords, 
together  with  a  front  view  of  the  tsuba. 
The  hilt  is  made  of  a  rare  Indian  wood, 
with  gilt  metal  bands  about  the  pommel. 
The  scabbard  is  richly  decorated  with  fig- 
ures of  animals  and  flowers  of  thin  gold 
plate  inlaid  in  lacquer, 
a  process  peculiar  to  this 
period.  The  tsuba  is 
thickly  coated  with  lac- 
quer; in  form  it  is  a 
modified  hexagon, 
comparatively  small  in 
relation  to  the  length  of 
the  blade. 

Fig.  6  represents 
another  sword  from  the  same  collection, 
the  shark-skin  hilt  and  lacquered  scab- 
bard both  profusely  decorated  with  per- 
forated work  in  gilt  bronze.  Here  the 
tsuba,  also  in  gilt  bronze  with  fine  pat- 
terns chased  over  it,  has  greater  thickness 
than  width.  Viewed  from  the  side,  it 
presents  the  same  motif  of  the  modified 
hexagon  already  seen  in  Fig.  5,  though 


Fig  5 

Japanese  sword 

showing  Chinese 

influence 


HISTORIC  J  L  ACCOUNT 


in  a  more  developed  form.  This  type  is  known  in  Japan 
as  the  Shitogi  tsuba  from  the  resemblance  it  bears  to 
the  Shitogi  cake,  a  confectionery  used  in  Shinto  ritual. 


Fig  6     Shitogi  tsuba 


The  insufficient  protection  which  such 
a  tsuba   afforded   to  the   hand  must  have 
been  felt  even  by  the  aristocrats  of  the  day, 
though  they  wore  their  swords  chiefly  as 
an  ornamental  accessory  of  the  court  cos- 
tume.    A  century  later  we  find  the  Shitogi 
tsuba  increasing  in  size  and  embellished  with  a  semi- 
circular metal  ring  which  projected  on  both  sides,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  7.     In  this  final  shape  the  Shitogi  tsuba 


Fig  7    Shitogi  tsuba  with  projecting  metal  ring 


10  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

survived   in   the  ceremonial  sword  of  the    Mikado's 
court  at  Kyoto  until  the  Meiji  Restoration  (1868). 

In  the  tenth  century  also  appears  the  earliest  form 
of  the  double-edged  symbolical  Buddhist  sword,  which 
formed  a  part  of  the  esoteric  ritual  and  was  supposed  to 
ward  off  evil  spirits.  Fig.  8  shows  one  supposed  to 
have  been  the  property  of  the  Emperor  Saga.  Its  hilt 
represents  the  three-forked  vajra,  while  the  tsuba  is  in 


Fig  8    Buddhist  sword  with  vajra  hilt 

the  form  of  a  lotus  bud.  In  another  type  of  Buddhist 
sword  the  upper  part  of  the  vajra  itself  forms  the  tsuba. 
But  the  sword  was  not  destined  to  play  merely  a 
peaceful  role  in  courtly  functions  or  religious  rites.  By 
the  eleventh  century  a  storm  was  gathering  which  was 
to  awaken  the  "  dragon  spirit "  of  the  sword  from  its 
long  sleep.  Feudalism  was  about  to  replace  the  Impe- 
rial bureaucracy,  and  the  disturbances  of  the  times, 
culminating  in  the  deadly  feuds  of  the  two  powerful 
families  of  Heike  and  Genji,  demanded  the  perfection 
of  arms.  Swordsmiths  vied  with  each  other  in  forging 
adamantine  blades  for  this  Japanese  War  of  the  Roses. 
Straight  swords  were  henceforth  discarded  in  warfare, 
to  be  replaced  by  curved  blades,  which  were  considered 
more  effective  in  dealing  heavy  blows.      The  curved 


HISTORIC  J  L  ACCOUNT  11 

sword  was  also  serviceable  as  a  cavalry  weapon  now  that 
battles  were  begun  by  a  contest  of  archery,  only  to  be 
finished  by  a  cavalry  charge.  Thus  the  blades  of  the  late 
Fujiwara  and  Kamakura  periods,  being  intended  to  be 
held  by  one  hand,  are  more  curved  and  of  lighter  build 
than  those  of  the  Ashikaga  period,  when  most  of  the 
fighting  was  done  on  foot. 

The  uselessness  of  the  Shitogi  tsuba  in  active  warfare 
soon  became  apparent,  and  the  smiths  had  to  revert  to 
the  original  idea  of  flat  metallic  discs  exemplified  in  the 


Fig  9     Aoi  tsuba 

early  Japanese  tsuba.  The  form  much  in  vogue  in  the 
twelfth  century  is  called  the  Aoi  tsuba,  from  the  heart- 
shaped  leaf  of  that  plant,  known  in  botany  as  Asarum. 
It  is  a  square,  the  sides  of  which  are  developed  into 
heart-shaped  forms  (see  Fig.  9).  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  Aoi  tsuba  retains  the  outlines  of  the  ringed 
Shitogi  tsuba  (compare  Fig.  7).      About  this  time  thin 


12  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

pieces  of  metal  known  as  seppa  (written  "setsuba") 
were  added  to  the  tsuba  in  order  to  hold  it  securely  on 
to  the  blade  and  hilt.  They  were  generally  four  in 
number,  two  large  (o-seppa)  and  two  smaller  (ko- 
seppa) ,  one  of  each  being  placed  on  either  side  of  the 
tsuba.  Sasara-seppa  and  kowari-seppa,  slightly  smaller 
than  the  ko-seppa,  were  sometimes  added  next  to  the 
latter.  The  o-seppa  gave  color  and  life  to  the  other- 
wise plain  appearance  of  the  guard,  while  the  ko-seppa 
performed  somewhat  the  function  of  a  washer.  They 
were  sometimes  made  of  gold  or  silver,  but  more  often 
of  an  exceedingly  dark  copper,  white  bronze,  or  sha- 
kudo  (an  alloy  of  gold  and  copper). 


Fig  10    Aoi  tsuba  of  Goshirakawa 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT 


13 


The  Aoi  tsuba  was  generally  made  of  copper  and 
gilded,  though  sometimes  of  iron  or  leather.  The  sur- 
face was  often  decorated  with  flower  motives  in  low 


Fig  11  Aoi  tsuba  of  leather 

relief.  Fig.  10  shows  an  Aoi  tsuba  on  the  sword  of  the 
Emperor  Goshirakawa  (middle  twelfth  century),  on 
which   the    o-seppa   is   highly   decorated    and   covers 


Fig  12  Aoi  tsuba  of  iron 

almost  the  whole  tsuba.  Fig.  1 1  shows  an  Aoi  tsuba 
made  of  leather  lacquered  at  the  border.  This  type 
(Neri-tsuba)  was  made  by  glueing  together  four  or  five 


14  JAPANESE  SWORD  GUARDS 

pieces  of  untanned  hide,  and  was  much  esteemed  for 
its  lightness.  Fig.  12  represents  an  Aoi  tsuba  made  of 
iron  on  which  a  dragon-fly  is  chiselled  and  perforated. 
The  dragon-fly,  as  symbolic  of  courage,  was  much  used 
as  a  decorative  motif  on  arms. 


Fig  13     Tsuba  with  Aoi  decoratio?i 

Tsuba  of  other  forms  beside  the  Aoi  were  also  in 
use  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  tsuba  shown  in  Fig.  13 
approaches  a  square  form  with  rounded  corners  and  is 
perforated  with  Aoi  decoration.  Fig.  14  is  a  guard 
from  the  sword  of  Yoshitsune,  a  famous  hero  of  the 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  15 


Fig  14     Tsuba  belonging  to 
Yoshitsune 


Fig  15     Tsuba  with 
pigeo?i  design 


16  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

period,  the  chasing  on  which  represents  storks  and 
young  pines.  Fig.  15  shows  a  tsuba  chased  with  de- 
signs of  flying  pigeons,  a  bird  sacred  to  the  war  god 
Hachiman.  Another  variation  of  the  shape  is  shown 
in  Fig.  16,  a  tsuba  which  possesses  an  elaborately  carved 
o-seppa.      The  thickened  rim  is  also  highly  decorated. 


Fig  16     Tsuba  with  carved  o-seppa 

The  perfectly  round  tsuba  seems  to  have  come  some- 
what later.  Fig.  17  shows  one  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, in  which  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  survival  of 
the  Aoi  motive  on  the  o-seppa. 

The  invasion  of  Japan  by  the  Mongols  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  thirteenth  century  occasioned  a  general 
reform  in   military  tactics.     Infantry  became  a   more 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  17 

important  factor  than  cavalry  in  the  line  of  battle. 
As  straighter  swords  of  greater  breadth  and  weight 
came  into  use,  swords  to  be  wielded  on  foot  with 
both  hands,  there  arose  a  new  school  of  sword- 
smiths,  of  whom  Masamune  is  par  excellence  the 
foremost  representative.        In   the    civil  wars    which 


Fig  17     Round  tsuba  with  Aoi  o-seppa 

followed  the  dissolution  of  the  Kamakura  (1337) 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Ashikaga  Shogunate  (1337- 
1582 J,  the  new  form  of  blade  proved  a  deadly  weapon, 
cleaving  with  unturned  edge  through  iron  helmets. 
The  long  sword  (odachi),  an  invention  of  the  period, 


18 


JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 


was  four  or  five  feet  in  length,  and  was  often  worn  slung 
from  the  shoulder  in  addition  to  the  sword  and  dagger 
in  the  belt.  According  to  old  records,  the  Chinese  gen- 
erals who  opposed  the  Japanese  during  the  TaikS's 
invasion  of  Corea  in  the  sixteenth  century  attributed 
the  successes  of  the  latter  to  the  use  of  this  weapon. 
To  fit  this  sword  the  size  of  the  tsuba  was  proportion- 
ately increased.  In  order  to  withstand  the  powerful 
impact  of  such  a  formidable  weapon  the  tsuba  had  to 
be  made  stronger  than  heretofore.     From  this  time  on 


Fig  18    Early  Ashikaga  tsuba    In  Figs  18  and  19 
the  open  work  parts  are  represented  in  black 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT 


19 


until  the  peaceful  days  of  the  Tokugawa  the  tsuba  was 
made  of  the  best  wrought  steel.  The  sword-smiths 
themselves,  as  well  as  the  armorers,  now  often  forged 
tsuba. 


Fig  19     Tsuba  of  the  middle  Ashikaga  period 


The  tsuba  of  the  Ashikaga  period  (1337-1582)  are 
large  and  massive.  Fig.  18  represents  an  early  square 
Ashikaga  tsuba  with  perforation,  representing  the  five 
stupa  and  an  invocation  to  Amida-Buddha.  Fig.  19 
shows  a  tsuba  of  the  middle  Ashikaga  period;   it  is 


20  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

circular  with  perforations  in  the  shape  of  a  rudder, 
probably  the  heraldic  device  of  the  owner. 

By  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  Zen  philosophy, 
which,  since  the  Kamakura  period,  had  been  perme- 
ating Japanese  life  and  thought,  begins  to  impress  its 
individualism  even  on  the  minor  crafts,  thus  raising 
them  toward  the  level  of  the  higher  arts.  The  makers 
of  tsuba  now  tried  to  realize  in  metal  the  ideals  which 
inspired  Sesshiu  and  Soami  in  painting.  For  the  first 
time  they  affixed  signatures  to  their  work.  Iron  was 
treated  with  acids  to  secure  a  rich  dark  tone.  The 
wonderful  grain  of  the  surface  and  the  simple  charm 
of  the  scenes  in  low  relief  found  in  the  tsuba  of  Kaneiye 
I,  one  of  the]  master  craftsmen  of  the  early  sixteenth 
century,  command  our  admiration  no  less  than  the 
more  developed  workmanship  of  the  Tokugawa  artists. 
In  fact,  it  is  owing  to  their  initiative  that  the  tsuba 
gained  such  artistic  expression  in  the  hand  of  their 
followers. 

By  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  began  the 
continuous  struggle  of  feudal  barons  whose  ambition 
was  to  obtain  supremacy  over  each  other,  only  to  end 
with  the  consolidation  of  the  empire  under  Taiko- 
Hideyoshi.  This  again  led  to  a  change  in  tactics  and 
a  further  improvement  in  arms,  which  affected  the 
tsuba  along  with  other  parts  of  the  sword. 

Questions  about  the  relative  merits  of  the  square  and 
round  tsuba  were  discussed  by  the  warriors  of  this  period. 
The  former  gave  more  protection  to  the  hand  and  was 
useful  in  scaling  the  walls  of  a  fortress,  but  the  difficulty 
in  drawing  the  sword  when  grappling  with  the  enemy 
was  a  serious  drawback.     Moreover,  the  corners  were 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  21 

likely  to  injure  a  man  who  was  thrown  from  his  horse. 
Each  principality  vied  with  its  neighbors  in  producing 
a  serviceable  tsuba.  It  is  said  that  in  the  principality 
of  Nagoya,  famed  for  the  quality  of  its  guards,  the 
smiths  pounded  the  newly  made  tsuba  in  a  mortar  with 
a  heavy  pestle  and  only  put  in  use  those  that  survived 
this  severe  test.  In  the  principality  of  Koshiu,  which 
under  the  celebrated  general  Takeda-Shingen  (died 
1573)  had  the  highest  reputation  for  military  science, 
preference  was  given  to  a  perforated  tsuba  (Fig.  20). 


Fig  20     Tsuba  of  Takeda-Shingen 


22  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

The  reason  given  was  the  fact  that  a  heavy  tsuba  con- 
centrated the  force  of  concussion  on  that  one  spot;  in 
dealing  hard  blows  the  blade  either  snapped  at  the  tsuba 
or  else  broke  the  mekugi,  the  pin  which  fastened  the 
tang  into  the  hilt  just  under  the  tsuba.  The  Tokugawa 
adopted  the  Koshiu  tactics  and  affected  its  fashion  in 
weapons,  thus  causing  the  prevalence  of  perforated  tsuba 
in  the  early  Tokugawa  period. 

Albeit  the  tsuba  makers  of  this  period  gave  the  first 
place  to  practical  utility,  it  did  not  prevent  them  from 
producing  works  of  extraordinary  beauty.  Foremost 
among  them  stands  Nobuiye,  who  worked  in  Koshiu. 
He  was  a  worthy  representative  of  the  illustrious  family 
of  armorers,  the  Miochin,  and  ranks  side  by  side  with 
Kaneiye  as  the  master  of  tsuba.  In  Kishiu  flourished 
the  school  of  Hoan,  in  Nagoya  the  Yamakichi.  The 
tsuba  of  Choshiu  are  also  interesting,  though  they  did 
not  rise  to  the  level  they  attained  in  the  later  period. 
Simple  inlaying  in  gold  and  brass  as  applied  to  tsuba  first 
appears  in  the  works  of  Hino-Yoji  and  Yoshiro,  guard 
makers  of  this  period.  In  the  second  section  of  this 
work  may  be  found  the  schools  of  the  tsuba  makers 
alphabetically  arranged. 

The  history  of  modern  tsuba  dates  from  the  rule  of 
Taiko-Hideyoshi  (1586)  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Tokugawa  Shogunate  (1603)  shortly  after  his  death. 
It  may  be  briefly  divided  into  three  periods.  In  the 
first  period,  late  sixteenth  to  late  seventeenth  century, 
the  warlike  days  were  not  yet  forgotten,  and  still  the 
sword  was  useful  in  settling  nice  points  of  honor.  At 
this  time  the  tsuba  was  always  made  in  steel.  However, 
the  effect   of  prolonged   peace   soon  appeared  in  the 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  23 

shortening  of  swords,  at  first  due  to  personal  conven- 
ience, but  later  required  by  law.  In  the  court  of  Yedo 
it  was  ordained  that  the  daimyo  in  attendance  on  the 
Shogun  should  wear  only  the  small  sword  (chiisa- 
katana)  about  eighteen  inches  in  length.  In  1670  the 
maximum  length  of  the  ordinary  sword  was  restricted 
to  two  feet  and  eight  and  three-quarters  inches  (Japan- 
ese measure).  Under  these  conditions  the  tsuba  dimin- 
ished in  size. 

The  tsuba  of  this  first  period  show  a  transition  from 
the  perforated  tsuba  of  the  Ashikaga  to  the  pictorial 
ones  of  the  later  Tokugawa.  Perforation  is  generally 
used,  though  the  designs  grow  freer  and  more  elaborate. 
The  unperforated  part  of  the  tsuba  is  more  fully  treated 
in  relief.  Tsuba  of  the  Higo  school,  founded  by  Fusa- 
yoshi,  and  those  of  the  Akasaka  school,  founded  by 
Tadamasa,  show  the  highest  development  of  this  style. 
Side  by  side  with  these  come  the  tsuba  in  which  carving 
plays  a  prominent  part.  The  movement  is  led  by 
Umetada-Shigeyoshi,  famed  for  his  carving  on  sword 
blades,  whose  tsuba  combines  the  styles  of  Kaneiye  and 
Nobuiye.  In  the  Kinai  tsuba  of  Echizen  we  find  carv- 
ings much  akin  in  treatment  to  the  sculpture  of  ramma 
(wooden  friezes)  in  the  Taiko's  palaces  or  the  Nikko 
temples,  where  the  perforations  serve  to  bring  out  the 
outline  of  the  main  design.  In  general  we  might 
describe  the  tsuba  of  this  period  as  sculpturesque  in 
contradistinction  to  the  pictorial  tsuba.  Inlay  work  in 
metal  also  progresses  in  the  hands  of  the  Fushimi  school, 
while  cloisonne  is  used  on  tsuba  for  the  first  time  by  the 
Hirata  school. 

The  second  period  commences  about  the  time  of 


24  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

the  Genroku  era  (1688)  and  lasts  till  near  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  During  this  period  the 
tsuba,  freed  from  the  requirements  of  practical  war- 
fare, reaches  its  highest  artistic  development.  The  use 
of  steel  being  now  no  longer  necessary,  softer  varieties 
of  iron  take  its  place.  Artists  in  other  metals  also 
now  lend  their  secrets  to  the  adornment  of  the  tsuba. 
Color  becomes  an  important  factor  in  the  workmanship, 
all  possible  alloys  being  utilized  in  order  to  produce  the 
desired  tone.  The  name  Efu  (picture-style)  or  Iroe 
(color-painting)  given  to  the  metal  work  of  this  period 
suggests  the  striving  after  pictorial  effect.  Indeed  the 
impulses  of  contemporary  painting  can  be  felt  most 
clearly  in  the  great  tsuba  makers  of  the  period.  In 
Toshinaga  and  Joi  we  find  a  reflection  of  the  Kano 
style.  Yasuchika  is  the  counterpart  of  Korin.  Yokoya- 
Somin  imitated  to  perfection  the  brush-strokes  of  Itcho 
in  his  chasing  on  shibuichi.  The  Chinese  style  of 
painting  of  the  late  Ming  and  early  Ch'in  dynasties,  the 
influence  of  which  began  to  be  felt  at  this  time,  finds 
expression  in  the  works  of  Jakushi  of  Nagasaki.  Of 
the  numerous  schools  which  arose  in  this  period  in 
Yedo  the  Nara  school  was  the  greatest;  in  Kyoto 
Nagatsune  led  the  movement  and  founded  the  Ichino- 
miya  school. 

The  schools  of  the  preceding  period  also  show  great 
vitality  under  the  new  conditions.  Munesuke  and 
Sosatsu  give  a  new  life  to  the  Miochin  school,  while 
the  school  of  Umetada  flourishes  under  the  Shoami  and 
the  famous  Tomotsune  and  Tomokatsu  of  Choshiu.  In- 
lay work  makes  further  progress,  precious  stones,  coral, 
etc. ,  being  used  in  addition  to  metal.     Among  the  tsuba 


HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  25 

makers  of  the  period  Toshinaga,  Yasuchika  and  Joi,  all 
of  the  Nara  school,  are  commonly  and  justly  known  as 
the  three  great  masters.  We  would  fain,  however, 
add  the  names  of  Shozui  of  that  school  and  Nagatsune 
of  Kyoto  in  the  illustrious  list. 

The  third  period,  late  eighteenth  century  to  the 
Restoration  of  1868,  is  an  age  of  decadence,  only  re- 
deemed toward  its  close  by  a  return  to  early  ideals.  In 
the  preceding  period,  though  the  tsuba  had  become 
pictorial,  the  artists  never  forgot  the  limitations  of  work 
in  metal.  While  they  got  their  inspiration  from  the 
painters,  they  adapted  the  pictorial  forms  to  the  require- 
ments of  their  own  material.  In  this  last  period,  how- 
ever, they  became  servile  imitators;  their  designs  grew 
more  elaborate  and  bizarre,  not  deep  and  full  of  force. 
Although  technique  had  never  reached  so  high  a  level, 
true  artistic  spirit  was  lost  in  the  striving  after  effect. 
The  craftsman  was  still  present,  but  not  the  artist. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  decline  in  taste,  we  still 
have  artists  of  great  individuality  and  capability  who 
will  always  hold  their  place  in  the  history  of  the  tsuba. 
The  Nara  school  under  Nariyuki  gains  in  delicacy  what 
it  loses  in  strength.  Variations  of  the  Nara  style  are  to 
be  found  in  Konkwan,  Nampo,  Yeiju,  and  Hironaga,  all 
artists  of  high  order.  The  Yanagawa  school,  an  off- 
shoot of  the  Yokoya,  the  rival  of  the  Nara  school,  is 
made  famous  by  the  names  of  Naoharu  and  Kono- 
Haruaki.  New  schools  of  painting  appearing  at  this 
time  immediately  show  their  effect  upon  contemporary 
tsuba.  In  Yedo  the  influence  of  the  Ukiyoe  painters, 
Shigemasa,  Hokusai,  and  Keisai,  is  seen  in  the  Ishiguro 
and  Mito  schools.     Another  painter,  Kikuchi-Yosai, 


26  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

furnished  designs  to  the  celebrated  Goto-Ichijo.  In 
Kyoto  the  naturalistic  schools  of  painting  under  Ganku, 
Okyo  and  Goshiun  gave  rise  to  a  new  school  of  tsuba 
makers,  the  Otsuki.  Mitsuoki  was  himself  a  pupil  of 
Ganku.  Kano-Natsuo  in  his  younger  days  owed  his 
inspiration  to  Raish5,  the  disciple  of  Okyo. 

Goto-Ichij5,  Kono-Haruaki  and  Kano-Natsuo  are 
commonly  known  as  the  three  great  masters  of  metal 
work  and  tsuba  making  in  modern  times,  though  the 
lack  of  power  in  the  work  of  the  first  scarcely  entitles 
him  to  rank  with  the  other  two.  It  was  Haruaki  and 
Natsuo  who  in  an  age  of  general  decadence  realized 
the  conditions  into  which  the  tsuba  artists  had  grad- 
ually and  unconsciously  fallen,  and  attempted  to 
improve  them  by  a  revival  of  past  ideals.  Haruaki 
reverted  to  the  style  of  the  early  Goto  school,  while 
Natsuo  sought  inspiration  from  the  masters  of  the 
second  period  or  even  earlier.  In  his  tsuba  he  tried  to 
combine  the  qualities  of  Yasuchika,  Nagatsune,  and  of 
the  first  Kaneiye.  There  is  a  simplicity  and  dignity 
in  the  work  of  Haruaki  and  Natsuo  rarely  found  in 
that  of  their  contemporaries.  The  hopes  of  this  revival 
were  never  to  be  fulfilled,  for  after  the  Restoration  of 
1868  its  influence  was  lost  in  the  general  craze  for 
everything  Occidental.  Soon  after  came  the  edict 
from  the  new  government  prohibiting  the  wearing  of 
swords.     The  tsuba  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 


SECTION   II 

An  alphabetical  list  of  schools  with  the  names  of  the 
principal  tsuba  makers  under  each  school. 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ   MAKERS  31 

AKASAKA  SCHOOL 

This  school  was  founded  by  Tadamasa,  a  guard 
maker  who  lived  at  Kurokawadani  in  the  district  of 
Akasaka  in  Yedo,  during  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  As  in  this  instance,  many  schools  of 
metal  workers  bore  the  names  of  the  places  in  which 
their  members  lived,  rather  than  the  names  of  the  foun- 
ders. The  artists  of  this  school  were  famed  for  origi- 
nality of  design  and  skill  in  tempering  iron.  On  account 
of  their  preference  for  open  or  perforated  work,  they 
were  largely  restricted  to  the  use  of  conventional  de- 
signs, often  looking  for  inspiration  to  the  classic  models 
of  the  Kamakura  and  Ashikaga  periods. 

Tadamasa,  who  died  in  1657,  is  generally  referred 
to  by  his  family  name  of  Shoyemon.  Other  artists  of 
the  Akasaka  school  were  Tadamasa  II  (died  1677), 
Masatora  (died  1707),  and  Tadatoki,  or  Hikojiuro 
(died  1746) ;  the  latter  was  especially  noted  for  his  skill 
in  perforated  work.  His  style  influenced  the  subsequent 
members  of  the  school  up  to  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Their  work  is  particularly  inter- 
esting on  account  of  a  curious  grained  effect,  like  that 
of  wood,  produced  by  a  special  method  of  hammering 
together  pieces  of  iron  of  varying  degrees  of  hardness, 
and  then  subjecting  the  whole  to  a  corrosive  bath. 
For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  artists  of  the  Aka- 
saka school  worthily  maintained  the  excellent  standard 
set  by  the  first  Tadamasa. 

Note. —  Natsuo,  the  Japanese  metal  worker  and 
authority,  says  that  the  Akasaka  guards  resemble 
very  closely  those  of  the  Higo  school,  which  started 


32  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

somewhat  later  and  flourished  contemporaneously 
with  them  in  western  Japan.  It  is  very  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  work  of  the  two  schools.  The  Akasaka 
workmen,  however,  paid  more  attention  to  temper 
and  their  designs  are  more  refined  in  feeling,  while 
those  of  Higo  show  greater  strength  and  less  depend- 
ence on  detail  than  did  the  artists  of  the  capital.  The 
favorite  subjects  of  the  latter  were  plum  blossoms, 
wild  geese,  Lake  Biwa,  Chikubushima  Island,  and 
decorative  written  characters,  all  executed  with  more 
freedom  than  those  of  the  Higo  school.  The  Akasaka 
guards  may  further  be  determined  from  the  Higo  by 
the  fact  that  in  them  the  seppadai  (the  oval  undeco rated 
space  about  the  sword  blade  hole)  was  smaller  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  guard.  The  Higo  tsuba  were 
not  generally  held  in  such  high  esteem  as  the  Akasaka. 

AKAO   SCHOOL 

The  first  artist  of  the  Akao  family  was  Yoshitsugu 
(or  Kichiji),  born  at  Fukui  toward  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  of  samurai  parentage.  A  second 
Kichiji  (early  in  the  eighteenth  century),  a  resident 
of  Yedo,  produced  many  fine  guards  of  shakudo  and 
perforated  iron. 

Tahichi  (about  1825),  who  also  signed  his  name 
Kichiji,  produced  interesting  color  effects  by  combi- 
nations of  various  metals. 

Tatsutoshi  (early  in  the  nineteenth  century),  a 
skillful  workman,  was  famed  for  the  fine  temper 
of  his  iron  and  the  excellence  and  originality  of  his 
designs. 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  33 

Masatsugu  and  Tomotsugu  ( or  Yoji)  of  the  Taka- 
hashi  family,  pupils  of  the  Akao  school,  became  known 
for  what  is  called  the  guri  style  of  carving  ( an  imitation 
of  lacquer,  usually  a  red  spiral  design  on  a  black 
ground).  They  worked  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century. 

AOKI   SCHOOL 

See  under  Goto  School  (p.  35). 
AWA  SCHOOL 

This  was  a  branch  of  the  Shoami  school  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Awa,  dating  from  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  It  was  founded  by  Tansai,  who  was  followed 
by  Ujinao,  Ujiyasu,  Yasufusa,  and  Masayasu,  all  of 
whom  made  a  specialty  of  inlay  on  iron.  Masachika, 
Nagafusa,  Nagahide,  and  Masanobu  were  the  best 
known  workers  in  relief  and  inlay  of  this  school  during 
the  eighteenth  century;  the  last  of  these  made  use  of 
inlay  work  mainly  on  perforated  iron  and  brass.  His 
sword  guards  are  recognizable  by  the  unusual  size  of 
the  riobitsu  (holes  on  each  side  of  the  triangular  blade 
opening). 

CHOSHIU  OR  HAGI  SCHOOL 

Mitsutsune,  an  artist  of  the  late  fourteenth  century, 
is  said  to  be  the  originator  of  the  Choshiu  school,  but 
no  examples  of  his  work  are  known  and  even  his  iden- 
tity is  doubtful.  The  earliest  existing  guards  of  this 
school  were  made  at  Yamaguchi  and  Hagi,  towns  in 
Suwo  and  Nagato  provinces,  during  the  early  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century.     Toward  the  latter  part  of 


34  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

this  century  and  during  the  eighteenth  century  a  num- 
ber of  these  artists  separated  from  the  main  school  and 
started  independently  with  their  followers  in  other 
places,  but  their  works  commonly  bore  the  name  of 
Choshiu  or  Hagi  tsuba.  The  main  school  is  known  as 
the  Nakai,  from  a  family  of  artists  who  first  worked  in 
Yamaguchi  and  removed  to  Choshiu  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Its  most  celebrated  offshoots  were  the 
families  of  Okamoto,  Kaneko,  Kawaji,  Yamichi, 
Inouye,  and  Nakahara. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
the  great  Umetada-Mioju  of  Kyoto  settled  at  Yama- 
guchi for  a  time  and  exerted  considerable  influence  on 
the  Choshiu  school.  His  pupil  Umetada-Masatomo 
became  the  founder  of  the  Okada  family.  By  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Choshiu  school 
had  a  great  following.  Among  its  leaders  were 
Tomomitsu,  Tomotsune,  Tomomichi,  Tomoyuki, 
Tomonobu,  Yukinori  (or  Koto),  Tomokatsu,  Tomo- 
hisa,  Nobumasa,  and  Masatomo.  Their  tsuba  differed 
from  those  of  their  contemporaries  not  only  in  being 
of  a  finer  quality  of  iron,  but  also  in  possessing  a 
beautiful  surface  of  nearly  black  color  produced 
by  the  action  of  acids.  Their  designs  invariably 
follow  the  Kano  and  Sesshiu  schools  of  painters, 
although  the  families  varied  from  each  other  slightly 
in  detail. 

DAIGORO  TSUBA 

These  tsuba  were  made  by  Gorobei  at  Kyoto  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth   century.     They   come 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  35 

under  the  general  heading  of  Kyo  tsuba,  a  generic 
name  given  to  guards  made  for  the  market  in  Kyoto 
by  obscure  artists  not  belonging  to  any  particular  school 
or  family.  The  perforated  designs  represent  insects, 
birds,  and  crests. 

FUSHIMI  SCHOOL 

The  exact  date  of  this  family  and  school  is  un- 
known, but  its  manner  of  inlay  became  very  popular 
during  the  late  sixteenth  and  early  seventeenth  cen- 
turies, and  many  artists  came  to  Fushimi,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Yamashiro,  to  learn  the  method. 

GOKINAI  TSUBA 

This  name  is  given  by  some  writers  to  the  work  of 
a  class  of  tsuba  makers  who  lived  in  the  Gokinai  (the 
five  provinces  in  the  vicinity  of  Kyoto).  So  many 
schools  flourished  in  the  Gokinai  that  the  term  is  mis- 
leading. The  artists  are  referred  to  here  under  their 
respective  schools,  for  example,  the  Heianjo  and 
Fushimi  schools.  The  so-called  Gokinai  tsuba  were 
produced  in  the  seventeenth  century.  They  resembled 
those  of  the  Higo  school,  except  that  more  attention 
was  paid  to  inlay.  The  best  work  was  done  toward 
the  latter  part  of  the  century. 

GOTO  SCHOOL 

Even  so  limited  a  catalogue  as  this  cannot  pass 
over  the  Goto  family  and  their  influence  on  the  design 


36  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

and  workmanship  of  sword  guards,  though  that  is 
almost  the  only  branch  of  decorative  metal  wx>rk  which 
they  did  not  ordinarily  practise. 

The  first  of  this  famous  school  and  family,  Goto 
Yiujo,  served  under  the  Shogun  Ashikaga-Yoshimasa, 
and  died  in  1512.  He  established  the  rules  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  family,  which  were  religiously  kept  for 
eleven  generations  —  more  than  two  hundred  years. 
The  fifth  of  the  name,  Tokujo,  was  court  metal 
worker  to  the  great  Hideyoshi,  and,  living  in  Kyoto, 
executed  orders  from  the  Imperial  court  and  the 
Tokugawa  Shogunate. 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  however,  Tsujo, 
the  eleventh  descendant  of  Goto- Yiujo,  was  given  an 
establishment  at  Yedo  by  the  Shogun  and  tempted 
from  the  family  traditions.  Once  in  the  progressive 
atmosphere  of  the  new  city,  Tsujo  found  himself  hard 
pressed  to  keep  up  his  prestige  among  such  artists  as 
Somin,  Toshinaga,  Yasuchika,  and  others.  This  com- 
petition forced  him  to  make  concessions  to  the  new 
taste,  and  to  disregard  some  of  the  ancient  rules  of  his 
family.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
no  one  of  the  race  had  made  sword  guards  except  as  a 
personal  favor,  or  on  an  order  from  his  Daimyo,  but  at 
this  time  Goto-Ichijo,  a  member  of  a  collateral  branch, 
finally  broke  the  traditions  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  He  became  known  as  a  maker  of  sword  guards 
as  well  as  of  the  ornamental  furniture  for  scabbard  and 
hilt,  for  which  his  family  had  been  famous. 

Of  the  six  well-known  pupils  of  Goto-Ichijo, 
Funada-Ikkin  was  the  most  famous.  He  worked 
during  the  second  half  of   the  nineteenth  century. 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  37 

Of  the  collateral  members  of  the  Goto  school  who 
studied  the  traditional  style  and  then  developed  styles  of 
their  own,  the  following  are  most  important: 

Takeshima-Kadzutoshi,  a  pupil  of  Teijo  (the  ninth 
Goto) ,  who  worked  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Tobari-Tomihisa,  a  pupil  of  Yen  jo  (the  thirteenth 
Goto),  who  worked  during  the  last  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 

Morimura-Atsutaka,  a  pupil  of  Shinjo  (the  fifteenth 
Goto).  He  worked  during  the  third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Aoki-Tsunekumo  founded  the  Aoki  school  and 
family  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Among  his  most  famous  followers  were  Tsuneyoshi, 
Tsunekiyo,  and  Tsuneari. 

Masayoshi  founded  the  Tanaka  school  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Of  the  later  artists  in 
the  family  Yoshiaki,  who  worked  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  century,  is  the  most  famous. 

Masatoki,  the  founder  of  the  Nomura  family, 
worked  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
His  pupil,  Tsu-Zimpo,  later  became  famous. 

HEIANJO   SCHOOL 

Founded  in  the  late  sixteenth  century,  this  school 
was  named  from  the  three  characters,  Hei-an-jo, 
generally  written  before  the  names  of  the  artists  of 
this  school.  Heianjo  is  a  classic  name  for  Kyoto, 
but  the  name  signified  the  adjoining  territory  as 
well  as  the  city  itself.     During  the  latter  part  of  the 


38  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

seventeenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, Kishi,  Shigemitsu,  and  Seibei  became  famous 
for  their  iron,  brass,  and  gold  inlay,  and  skillful  open 
work  and  chiselling.  They  invariably  chose  for  their 
subjects  animals  and  birds,  often  treating  them  gro- 
tesquely. 

HIGO  SCHOOL 

This  school  started  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  under  the  patronage  of  Hosokawa,  the 
Daimyo  of  Higo  province.  Its  first  artist,  Fusayoshi 
(sometimes  called  Matahichi  or  Shigeharu),  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-four  in  1691.  Other  prominent 
members  of  this  school  were  Shigefusa  (died  1730), 
Shigemitsu  (died  1729),  Shigetsugu  (died  1784), 
Shigehisa,  Katsumitsu,  Yoritada,  and  Ikuhei.  Their 
work  is  much  sought  after  by  collectors.  It  is  charac- 
terized by  well-tempered  iron,  perforated  design,  and  a 
thick  round  edge. 

Jingo,  an  independent  worker  in  Higo  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  approached  the 
manner  of  the  Higo  school.  Generally  making  use 
of  the  plum  and  kiri  flowers  in  his  designs,  he  excelled 
in  perforated  work.  His  guards  are  of  good  color 
with  smooth  and  well-finished  surfaces,  and  their 
edges  are  often  treated  so  as  to  represent  grained  wood. 

Kanpei  and  Kanshiro  (family  name  Nishigaki) 
were  two  famous  guard  makers,  born  in  Tosa  province, 
who  later  lived  in  Higo  province.  They  worked  from 
the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  to  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Their  style  resembled  that  of 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  39 

the  Higo  school,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Miochin.     Ex- 
amples of  their  work  are  very  valuable. 


HI  RATA  SCHOOL 

Donin,  the  first  artist  of  this  school,  worked  during 
the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  was 
probably  the  first  to  use  cloisonne  in  connection  with 
sword  guards,  and  is  said  to  have  learned  the  process 
of  its  application  from  a  Korean  master,  by  order  of 
the  Shogun.  Five  and  sometimes  six  colors  were 
used  in  conjunction  with  gold  wire  on  an  iron  back- 
ground.    He  died  in  1646. 

The  descendants  of  Donin  in  line  were  Narikadzu 
(died  1652),  Narihisa  ( died  1671),  Shigekata  (died  in 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  or,  according  to 
one  record,  in  1714),  Narikado  (died  in  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century),  Nariyuki  (died  1770),  and  Nari- 
suke  (died  1816). 

Harunari,  a  somewhat  more  notable  man  than 
those  mentioned  above,  a  skillful  carver  and  cloisonne 
worker,  lived  during  the  late  eighteenth  and  early 
nineteenth  centuries. 

For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  this  school  was 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns. 


HOAN   SCHOOL 

Hoan,  the  first  artist  of  this  school,  worked  during 
the  Tensho  period  ( 1573-91 ).  His  tsuba  are  generally 
circular  and  perforated. 


40  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Kanenobu,  Kaneyasu,  Haruyoshi,  and  both  Sada- 
nagas,  well  known  for  the  excellence  of  their  work, 
were  artists  of  this  school  who  lived  at  Hiroshima  ( in 
the  province  of  Geishiu)  and  in  the  province  of  Kishiu, 
and  produced  tsuba  during  the  late  seventeenth  and 
early  eighteenth  centuries. 

HOSONO   MASAMORI  STYLE 

The  katakiri  style  of  carving  (incised  work  in  imi- 
tation of  brush  strokes)  was  extensively  practised  by 
Hosono-Masamori  in  Kyoto.  He  used  a  great  variety 
of  metals  for  inlay,  but  oftenest  gold,  silver,  and  copper. 
His  designs  generally  were  small  figures  with  land- 
scapes, taken  from  drawings  by  early  Ukiyoe  masters 
of  the  Genroku  era,  those  of  Moronobu  and  Nishikawa- 
Sukenobu  being  his  favorites.  His  work  dates  from 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

ICHINOMIYA  SCHOOL 

Nagatsune,  who  at  first  signed  himself  Setsuzan, 
was  descended  from  a  samurai  family  of  Kaga  province, 
which  afterward  settled  in  Echizen  province.  As  a 
youth  he  went  to  Kyoto  where  he  became  a  pupil  of 
Takanaga  and  also  of  Furukawa-Yoshinaga,  a  follower 
of  the  Goto  school.  Not  satisfied  with  their  teachings, 
he  devoted  himself  to  a  study  of  the  old  masters  and 
founded  a  school  of  his  own  called  the  Ichinomiya. 
He  was  a  great  designer  and  maker  of  decorative  metal 
work,  as  well  as  of  tsuba.  His  skill  in  katakiri  was 
considered  equal  to  that  of  Yokoya-Somin.     He  was 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  41 

honored  with  the  title  of  "  Echizen-no-Daijo  "  by  the 
Emperor,  and  often  signed  himself  so  on  his  guards. 
He  died  1786,  aged  sixty-seven.  His  pupils,  Naga- 
yoshi,  Chobi,  and  Tsunenao,  worked  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuries. 

INLAY  WORK  (ZOGAN) 

There  were  practically  three  methods  of  inlaying 
metals  used  by  the  tsuba  artists.  One  was  to  cross- 
hatch  the  surface  of  the  object,  apply  the  metal  to  be 
inlaid,  and  hammer  it  into  the  surface.  This  work  was 
called  by  the  Japanese  nunome-zogan  ( ' '  cloth-surface 
inlay ' ' ),  as  the  surface  resembled  a  piece  of  woven 
stuff,  and  was  used  for  the  harder  metals.  Another 
process  was  called  hira-zogan  ("flat  inlay");  in  this 
case  a  groove  was  cut  in  the  object  and  the  softer 
metal  hammered  or  pressed  into  it.  As  the  groove 
was  broader  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top,  the  inserted 
metal  was  held  firmly  in  place.  Soft  metals  which 
lend  themselves  readily  to  moulding  were  ordinarily 
used  in  this  process.  The  third  process,  known  as 
taka-zogan  (  "high  inlay" ),  was  used  when  the  inlaid 
parts  needed  to  be  in  relief.  The  relief  parts  were 
finished  separately,  set  into  a  groove,  and  then  secured 
in  place  by  hammering  the  edge  of  the  groove.  This 
last  process  was  mainly  used  by  the  regular  metal 
carvers,  not  by  the  inlay  workers,  who  formed  a  class 
by  themselves. 

Hino-yoji,  whose  name  is  sometimes  written  Hino- 
choji,  was  the  first  one  known  to  have  made  much 


42  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

use  of  silver  inlay.  He  worked  during  the  fifteenth 
century. 

Yoshiro,  the  founder  of  a  school  of  inlay  workers, 
was  a  stirrup  maker  as  well  as  a  tsuba  artist,  who  made 
a  study  of  brass  inlay  work.  He  was  best  in  the  con- 
ventional treatment  of  the  tendril  design.  He  worked 
during  the  sixteenth  century. 

Murakami-Jochiku  was  a  metal  carver  of  Yedo, 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  who  did 
inlay  work  on  stirrups.  He  also  made  tsuba  and 
sword  ornaments.  He  inlaid  all  metals  with  equal 
skill  and  soon  became  famous,  being  the  first  to 
produce  color  effects  in  hira-zogan  by  the  use  of  dif- 
ferent alloys.  Rock  crystal,  jade,  corals,  and  mother- 
of-pearl  were  also  utilized  in  his  inlay  work.  His 
daughter,  Jotetsu,  was  also  skillful  in  her  father's  art. 

Kiyoyasu,  a  Yedo  artist  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  an  expert  in  the  Jochiku 
style  of  inlay  work. 

Kiyo-Sada  of  Sendai  ( Oshiu  province )  and  Chikon 
of  Okayama  (Bizen  province)  were  noted  for  their 
delicate  hira-zogan. 

INSHIU  SCHOOL 

The  earliest  artist  of  this  school  to  attain  fame  was 
Suruga,  who  lived  during  the  early  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  His  work,  as  well  as  that  of  other 
members  of  the  school,  resembled  in  style  that  of  the 
Choshiu  artists.  Choshiu  is  not  far  from  Inshiu,  and 
it  seems  probable  that  this  similarity  of  treatment  was 
due  to   the  fact   that   the   artists  of  the   two  schools 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  43 

associated  together  and  influenced  each  other's  work. 
Takuji,  Masamitsu,  Masahide,  Naomitsu,  and  the 
two  Masayoshi,  well-known  followers  of  this  school, 
worked  from  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  to  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  later  of  these 
masters  were  influenced  by  the  Ito  school  of  Yedo. 

ISHIGURO   SCHOOL 

The  early  work  of  this  school,  which  flourished 
in  Yedo,  resembles  that  of  the  Yanagawa  and  Goto 
schools,  but  its  first  artist,  Masatsune  I,  a  pupil  of 
Naotsune,  soon  adopted  an  individual  style  which 
was  received  with  great  favor.  His  designs  were 
generally  studies  of  flowers,  birds,  and  human  figures, 
in  beautiful  inlay  of  various  metals.  He  died  in  1828, 
aged  sixty-nine. 

Masatsune  II  flourished  during  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Koretsune  continued  the 
style  of  Masatsune,  and,  together  with  Koreyoshi, 
Masayoshi,  Masauki,  and  Hideaki,  won  great  renown 
in  metal  carving  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Many  artists  followed  this  style  until  the 
Meiji  period.  It  is  one  of  the  notable  schools  of 
modern  times. 

ITO   SCHOOL 

This  school  was  a  branch  of  the  Umetada,  and 
forms  one  of  the  largest  groups  of  metal  workers  in 
Yedo.  Its  members  worked  principally  on  perfor- 
ated iron  guards,  though  some  made  sparing  use  of  gold 


44  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

inlay.  The  most  famous  of  them  was  Ito-Masatsune, 
who  died  in  1724. 

A  second  It6-Masatsune  (Jingoro),  whose  work 
and  signature  are  very  different  from  those  of  the 
first  Masatsune,  was  by  profession  a  musket  maker, 
who  also  made  sword  guards.  He  worked  during 
the  early  nineteenth  century.  Many  famous  pupils 
carried  on  the  work  after  his  death. 

Artists  of  the  Ito  school  often  wrote  Bushiujiu 
before  their  names,  to  signify  that  they  resided  in 
Bushiu  province,  of  which  Yedo  was  the  chief  city. 
This  signature  has  led  many  critics  to  give  the  name 
Bushiu  tsuba  to  their  works. 

Hashimoto  Seisai,  a  guard  maker  of  Yedo,  was 
noted  for  the  fine  temper  of  his  iron.  His  guards 
have  a  finely  finished  surface  and  show  skillful  per- 
foration. He  flourished  during  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  His  work  resembled  that  of  the 
Ito  style. 

IWAMOTO   SCHOOL 

A  branch  of  the  Yokoya  school.  Its  earliest  expo- 
nent was  Chiubei,  pupil  of  the  first  Yokoya-Soyo,  who 
worked  in  Yedo  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Iwamoto-Riokwan  II,  a  skillful  metal  carver,  was  the 
fourth  of  this  line.  His  pupil,  Konkwan,  who,  having 
broken  away  from  his  master's  style,  developed  a 
method  of  his  own,  was  much  influenced  by  the  Nara 
school.  He  was  celebrated  for  his  representations  of 
fishes.  He  died  in  1801,  aged  fifty-eight.  His  other 
signatures  are  Hakuhotei  and  Shiunsho. 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  45 

Kwanri,  the  adopted  son  of  Konkwan,  did  exceed- 
ingly fine  work  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

JAKUSHI   SCHOOL 

The  first  artist  was  Jakushi,  who  lived  at  Nagasaki 
in  Hizen  province.  He  later  became  a  monk  and 
changed  his  name  from  Jakushi  to  Doko  or  Fukoshi. 
He  was  a  painter,  but  he  worked  in  metal  as  well,  and 
was  famous  for  his  representations  of  Chinese  land- 
scapes. He  used  nunome  inlay,  regulating  the  thick- 
ness of  the  inlaid  surface  so  as  to  produce  an  effect  like 
that  produced  by  gradation  of  color  in  paintings.  He 
worked  during  the  late  seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth 
centuries.  Inasmuch  as  Nagasaki  was  the  only  port 
open  to  foreign  commerce,  Chinese  influences  in  art 
naturally  were  felt  there  sooner  than  in  other  parts  of 
Japan.  Jakushi  was  the  first  artist  to  introduce  into 
metal  work  the  pictorial  style  of  the  early  Ch'in  dynasty. 

Jakushi  II,  who  was  also  called  Kizayemon,  sur- 
passed his  father  and  master,  Jakushi  I,  in  skill  and 
reputation.  He  was  versatile  in  his  designs  and  expert 
in  execution,  and  worked  about  1730. 

Yeirakudo,  a  Nagasaki  artist  probably  of  the  late 
eighteenth  century,  was  noted  for  copying  Jakushi 
tsuba. 

KAGA  SCHOOL 

The  artists  of  the  Kaga  school  followed  the  designs 
of  the  Kano  painters  and  the  style  of  the  Goto  school 


46  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

of  metal  carvers.  The  earliest  artists,  Yoshishige,  who 
was  also  a  painter,  and  his  brother  Kuninaga,  were  con- 
nected with  the  house  of  the  Daimyo  of  Kaga  province 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Yoshinori,  Yoshikuni,  and  Yoshitsugu  were  noted 
pupils  of  this  school.  Morisada,  a  distinguished  inlay 
worker  of  Toyama,  a  town  in  the  same  daimyate,  is 
also  classed  with  them.  Ujiiye,  a  pupil  of  Goto-Kenjo 
of  the  Goto  school,  came  to  Kaga  from  Fushimi  about 
1650  and  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Kaga  artists.  As  a 
school  they  are  famed  for  their  great  skill  in  inlay 
work  (hira-zogan). 

KANAYAMA  SCHOOL 

Little  is  known  as  to  the  origin  of  this  school,  but 
probably  the  name  is  derived  from  a  place  name  in  the 
province  of  Yamashiro,  where  the  early  artists  worked. 
Natsuo  places  the  date  of  the  earliest  known  example 
of  their  work  in  the  late  sixteenth  century.  Tsuba  of 
this  school  are  perforated  so  as  to  be  very  light,  and  are 
decorated  with  many  variations  of  the  gourd  design,  a 
favorite  motif  of  the  Taiko  period.  They  have  a  very 
beautiful  patina. 

KANEIYE  SCHOOL 

In  design,  the  first  Kaneiye  followed  the  style  of 
Mokkei,  a  Chinese  painter  (Sung  dynasty),  and  Sesshiu, 
a  Japanese  painter,  who  worked  after  the  Chinese  style 
during  the  fifteenth  century.  His  guards  are  remark- 
able for  the  brown  or  reddish  color  of  the  iron  and 
their  wonderful  finish,  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  other 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  47 

artist  with  the  possible  exception  of  Nobuiye.  They 
are  generally  hammered  very  thin  and  have  an  appear- 
ance of  softness  and  pliability.  He  was  the  earliest 
artist  to  execute  landscape  in  relief  on  iron,  and  was 
fond  of  representing  Chinese  scenery,  flowers,  birds, 
and  animals.  His  high  relief  was  made  by  inlaying 
the  raised  portion  of  the  design,  which  sometimes  made 
it  insecure.  His  best  work  was  that  done  in  low  relief. 
He  used  gold  inlay  sparingly,  but  with  much  effect, 
sometimes  merely  to  represent  a  dewdrop  on  the  grass 
or  the  eye  of  a  bird.  His  date  is  not  certain.  Some 
records  place  him  in  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  but  probably  he  worked  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  With  Kaneiye  the  shape  of  the  tsuba  began 
to  vary  from  the  regular,  symmetrical  type.  He  first 
introduced  the  Kobushigata  tsuba,  an  ovate  shape  with 
the  contour  of  a  closed  fist. 

Kaneiye  II  closely  followed  the  first  Kaneiye  in  the 
shape  and  design  of  his  tsuba.  His  guards  can,  how- 
ever, be  readily  told  from  those  of  Kaneiye  I  by  their 
greater  roundness,  thickness,  and  the  difference  in  the 
signature,  that  of  Kaneiye  II  being  cut  much  the 
sharper  of  the  two.  He  worked  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  sixteenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
centuries.  We  gather  from  a  legend  on  one  of  his 
tsuba  that  he  was  living  at  Nara  in  the  year  1593. 

Kanesada  was  a  pupil  of  the  second  Kaneiye,  who 
closely  imitated  his  teacher's  designs  and  methods,  and 
worked  during  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Koten  worked  during  the  seventeenth  century  after 
the  style  of  the  first  Kaneiye.  Examples  of  his  work 
are  very  rare. 


48  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Tetsunin,  a  follower  of  Kaneiye,  was  not  only  a 
well-known  guard  maker,  but  also  a  master  in  the  art 
of  fencing,  in  which  capacity  he  served  as  teacher  in 
the  house  of  the  Daimyo  of  Higo  province.  It  is  said 
that  he  tempered  the  iron  used  by  the  second  Kaneiye 
and  was  very  skillful  in  this  work.  His  tsuba  show 
crudeness  of  design  compared  with  those  of  the  two 
Kaneiye,  and  his  subjects  in  general  were  large  in 
scale  and  lacked  detail.  He  worked  during  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

KASUTSURA  STYLE 

Uyesugi-Kasutsura  began  life  as  an  apprentice  in 
a  sword  shop  in  Kyoto  kept  by  Sawaya-Zihei,  a  con- 
noisseur in  metal  work.  His  fine  relief  work  in  metal 
is  signed  at  first  with  the  name  Kazutsura  in  two  char- 
acters, then  later  as  Kasutsura  in  three  characters.  He 
lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His 
most  famous  pupil  was  Aritsune,  the  son  of  Sawaya- 
Zihei. 

KIKUGAWA  FAMILY 

Hisahide,  of  the  Kikugawa  family,  was  a  metal 
carver  of  Yedo.  At  first  a  pupil  of  Muneyoshi  ( nick- 
named the  Kikubori-Chobei  for  his  skill  in  represent- 
ing chrysanthemums),  he  later  studied  the  work  of 
Chizuka-Hisanari,  and  became  an  exceedingly  skillful 
tsuba  maker.  "  Nampo  "  is  a  signature  he  sometimes 
used.  He  lived  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Many  pupils  came  under  his  teaching,  among 
them  Terukiyo  and  Teruchika. 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  49 

KIKUOKA  FAMILY 

The  first  of  the  name,  was  Mitsuyuki,  who  was  a 
maker  of  ornamental  sword  fittings  as  well  as  being 
a  famous  poet.  Toward  middle  life  he  studied  tsuba 
making  under  Yanagawa-Naomitsu  of  the  Yanagawa 
school,  but  his  work  resembles  more  strongly  that  of 
the  Yokoya  school.  He  did  good  copying  from  Yo- 
koya-Somin.  He  died  in  1800,  aged  fifty-one.  His 
brother,  Mitsumasa,  also  a  skillful  metal  carver,  died 
in  1824.  His  was  a  very  prominent  family,  and  many 
students  flocked  to  learn  his  methods. 

KINAI   SCHOOL 

Kinai,  the  founder  of  the  school,  was  a  native  of 
Echizen  province.  His  family  is  known  by  the  name 
Takahashi,  although  Sokenkisho,  the  standard  work 
on  sword  ornaments,  calls  it  Ishikawa.  About  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  first  Kinai  is 
said  to  have  been  selected  to  carve  the  sword  blades  of 
namban  steel,  which  Yasutsugu,  a  famous  sword-smith, 
forged  for  the  Shogun.  He  was  not  only  expert  in  the 
use  of  the  chisel  in  embellishing  sword  blades,  but 
also  a  tsuba  maker.  The  iron  of  which  his  tsuba  were 
made  was  of  the  finest  quality,  and  its  surface  had  a 
smooth  polish.  He  took  pride  in  simple  vigorous 
effects,  never  using  inlay,  sometimes  working  with  nam- 
ban iron.  He  was  best  in  perforated  work,  using  as  his 
favorite  designs,  dragons,  storks,  bamboo,  shells,  etc. 
With  him  are  associated  the  names  of  Kogitsune,  Tada- 
saku,  and  Yoshitsugu.     Up  to  the  nineteenth  century 


50  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

the  members  of  this  school,  who  invariably  signed  their 
work  with  the  name  Kinai,  kept  up  the  style  and 
reputation  of  its  founder.  The  best  of  their  work  was 
regularly  presented  to  the  Shogun  by  the  Daimyo  of 
Echizen,  hence  it  is  known  asKenjo,  or  "  presentation 
tsuba." 


MIOCHIN  SCHOOL 

The  Miochin  was  a  renowned  family  of  armor- 
smiths  from  the  days  of  its  founder  Munesuke  in  the 
twelfth  century.  Little  is  known  of  their  sword  guards, 
though  they  must  have  engaged  in  this  branch  of  the 
art.  Yoshinaga,  the  fourteenth  Miochin,  Yoshimichi, 
brother  of  the  sixteenth  Miochin,  and  Nobuiye,  the 
seventeenth  Miochin,  are  generally  considered  the  three 
greatest  masters  of  the  school.  Of  these,  Nobuiye  is  the 
only  one  known  to  have  made  sword  guards.  His 
early  name  was  Yasuiye,  but  he  is  popularly  known  as 
Koshiu-Miochin,  Koshiu  being  the  province  in  which 
he  lived  and  worked.  His  guards  were  usually  rather 
thick  and  heavy,  with  a  wonderful  patina.  Nobuiye' s 
guards,  next  to  those  of  Kaneiye,  were  most  sought 
after  on  account  of  their  near  approach  to  the  ideal 
tsuba;  consequently  in  both  cases  there  are  many  skill- 
ful forgeries.  Kaneiye  excelled  in  design,  Nobuiye  in 
the  high  quality  of  tempered  iron.  Nobuiye  nourished 
in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century;  the  date  of 
his  death  is  sometimes  given  as  1564. 

Ujiiye,  who  worked  in  Koshiu  and  later  in  Kotsuke 
in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  signed  his 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  51 

later  works  with  the  name  Nobuiye.  He  is  often 
known  as  Nobuiye  II. 

Nobuaki  was  a  pupil  of  Nobuiye,  who  worked  in 
the  late  sixteenth  century.  He  was  noted  for  the  beau- 
tiful texture  and  color  of  his  iron,  his  perforated  design, 
and  the  versatility  of  his  work.  He  lived  in  Kuwana 
in  the  province  of  Ise. 

Nobusada  was  a  wonderful  copyist  of  Nobuiye, 
whose  work  cannot  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
latter  except  when  it  is  signed.  He  nourished  about 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Three  artists  with  the  name  Nobuiye,  who  worked 
in  Kyoto,  Kaga,  and  Geishiu  (Aki  province),  are 
known  respectively  as  Kyo-Nobuiye,  Kaga-Nobuiye, 
and  Geishiu-Nobuiye.  Their  dates  are  uncertain, 
though  probably  they  worked  in  the  second  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  early  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Munenobu,  the  twentieth  artist  of  the  Miochin 
school,  who  worked  during  the  ea_rly  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  under  the  title  of  Osumi-no-Kami,  was 
particularly  noted  for  the  high  quality  of  his  tempered 
iron. 

Munesuke,  a  famous  artist  of  the  Miochin  school, 
flourished  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  was  a  critic  of  his  family's  works. 

Sosatsu  ( or  Muneaki )  was  a  well-known  maker  of 
skillful  perforated  work  who  flourished  about  1730. 
He  is  noted  for  the  fine  temper  and  delicate  color  of 
his  iron.  He  made  a  study  of  old  armor,  and  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  great  masters  of  the  Miochin  school. 

Nobumichi  worked  about  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  after  the  style  of  the  Miochin  school. 


52  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Munetoshi,  a  guard  maker  of  Tosa  province,  of  the 
Miochin  school,  who  worked  during  the  eighteenth 
century,  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  tempering  iron. 

Setsuju,  a  skilled  late  eighteenth  century  worker  of 
the  Miochin  school,  lived  at  Mito  and  executed  small 
perforated  designs  on  highly  tempered  iron. 

Ariaki,  a  guard  maker  of  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  was  especially  noted  for  his  representa- 
tion of  wood-grain  on  iron  in  Miochin  style.  He  lived 
in  Shimotsuke  province. 

Munetane  and  Munetaka,  two  artists  of  the  Mio- 
chin school,  flourished  from  1800  to  1830. 

Naokatsu  lived  in  Kotsuke  province  and  was  a 
sword-smith  as  well  as  a  guard  maker.  As  a  sword- 
smith  he  knew  well  the  value  of  highly  tempered  iron 
and  accordingly  used  it  for  his  tsuba.  This,  together 
with  the  excellent  color  of  his  guards,  has  made  him 
famous.  His  style  is  similar  to  that  of  the  artists  of 
the  Miochin  school.     He  died  in  1857. 

Muneharu,  a  native  of  Yedo  and  an  artist  of  the 
Miochin  school,  worked  about  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Yasuiye,  a  skillful  tsuba  artist  of  the  Miochin  school, 
worked  during  the  nineteenth  century. 


MITO   SCHOOL 

At  Mito,  Hitachi  province,  lived  many  artists  who 
followed  various  styles.  Their  work,  however,  pos- 
sessed a  certain  general  similarity,  such  that  they  have 
become  known  as  the  "Mito  School.' '     Four  main 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  53 

divisions  came  under  this  heading  :  the  Sekijoken,  the 
Koami,  the  Hitotsuyanagi  or  Ichiriu,  and  the  Yegawa. 

Mototaka,  the  founder  of  the  Sekijoken  line,  was  a 
son  of  Taizan-Motonori,  a  pupil  of  the  Yokoya  school, 
who  signed  his  work  Sekijoken-Taizan-Mototaka.  He 
worked  during  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  lived  to  a  great  age.  He  was  a  skillful  copyist  of 
the  style  of  the  Nara  artists,  Joi,  Shozui,  Yasuchika, 
Toshinaga,  etc.,  and  a  teacher  of  great  ability,  so 
that  his  studio  was  crowded  with  pupils,  among  the 
most  expert  of  whom  was  Takase-Yeiju  (or  Hisan- 
aga),  who  worked  during  the  late  eighteenth  and  early 
nineteenth  centuries. 

The  artists  of  the  Sekijoken  school  at  first  followed 
the  style  of  Yokoya,  but  later  they  turned  to  the  Nara 
school. 

The  Koami  family  was  founded  by  Koami,  a  pupil 
of  the  Goto. 

His  pupil,  Tsujiu,  followed  the  Goto  style;  his 
name  is  derived  from  the  names  of  two  Goto  artists, 
Tsujo  and  Jiujo.  Later  he  and  his  followers  adopted 
the  Nara  style. 

Other  noted  men  of  the  school  were  Yoshinaga  and 
Yoshihisa,  who  flourished  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  Hironaga,  pupil  of  Yoshinaga, 
who  did  excellent  work  in  relief  during  the  late  eigh- 
teenth and  the  early  nineteenth  centuries. 

The  Hitotsuyanagi  or  Ichiriu  family  was  a  branch 
of  the  Koami  family.  The  first  four  artists  used  the 
same  signature,  "  Tomoyoshi."  They  are  celebrated 
for  their  high  relief  and  for  their  original  designs  de- 
picting  the   dragon,  the   tiger,   and  the  Howo  bird. 


54-  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

They  lived  during  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  cen- 
turies. 

The  Yegawa  family  was  founded  by  Yegawa-Toshi- 
masa,  a  pupil  of  Hitotsuyanagi-Tomoyoshi,  who  later 
changed  from  his  master's  style  to  that  of  the  Yokoya 
artists.  During  the  late  eighteenth  century  he  served 
in  the  household  of  the  Daimyo  of  Kurume  under  the 
name  of  Sorin,  a  name  probably  adopted  because  of 
the  fame  attained  by  Somin  and  Soyo  of  the  Yokoya 
school.  His  son,  Toshimasa,  also  became  a  famous 
metal  carver. 

MUKADE  TSUBA 

The  "mukade"  design  originated  from  a  represen- 
tation of  a  mukade  or  centipede,  but  soon  became  con- 
ventionalized out  of  all  recognition.  Sometimes  the 
tsuba  were  twisted  coils  of  metal  bound  together  with 
wire,  sometimes  merely  inlaid  with  different  metals  to 
give  that  appearance.  Some  writers  give  the  date  of 
its  origin  as  the  sixteenth  century,  but  all  we  can  be 
certain  of  is  that  it  did  not  come  into  fashion  until  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth.  The  centipede  is  an 
insect  sacred  to  Bishamon,  the  god  of  war. 

NAMBAN,  KANNAN  (KAGONAMI),  OR  CAN- 
TON TSUBA. 

These  names  were  used  to  refer  to  any  extraneous 
material  or  style  which  found  its  way  by  trade  to  Japan 
from  China  or  by  the  East-Indian  route,  and  became 
popular  there.     About  the  seventeenth  century  a  craze 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  55 

for  foreign  designs  manifested  itself  among  the  artists 
who  made  decorative  metal  work,  especially  sword 
guards.  The  work  is  characterized  in  general  by  very 
small  perforations,  a  curious  undercutting  with  the 
chisel,  and  in  most  instances  a  slight  use  of  gold  nunome 
inlay.  The  introduction  of  the  dragon  and  a  conven- 
tional flower  into  the  " tendril  design"  characterizes 
the  popular  canton  work  made  at  Nagasaki,  Kyoto, 
and  Yedo  from  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Yamada-Ichirohei  is  one  of  the  many  guard  makers 
of  this  style  who  lived  in  Nagasaki  and  worked  during 
the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Tanaka-Sobei  II,  a  guard  maker  of  this  style  in 
Yedo,  worked  during  the  early  nineteenth  century. 

Mitsuhiro  I  and  Mitsuhiro  II,  two  artists  of  Hizen 
province,  became  well  known  as  clever  workers  in  the 
"canton"  style  during  the  early  nineteenth  century- 
They  are  famous  for  the  individuality  of  their  methods. 
The  so-called  one  thousand  horse  and  monkey  designs 
were  their  favorite  subjects. 

NARA  SCHOOL 

The  artists  of  the  Nara  family,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant schools  in  Yedo,  made  metal  ornaments  and 
sword  guards,  as  did  almost  every  school  of  metal 
workers.  Toshiteru,  Toshimune,  Toshiharu,  Toshi- 
naga  (or  Riyei),  Tatsumasa,  and  Juyei  were  famous 
metal  carvers  and  tsuba  artists  of  the  early  Nara  school. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the 
great  Nara-Toshinaga  came  into  prominence  through 
his  development  of  a  much  more  refined  and  polished 


56  .,        JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

style  than  that  of  the  earlier  Nara  artists,  and  through 
his  knowledge  of  human  anatomy.  For  this  reason 
the  school,  previous  to  his  advent,  is  known  as  the 
Ko-Nara,  or  Old  Nara,  school,  in  distinction  from  the 
later  Nara.  He  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  figure  relief, 
and  his  designs  were  generally  historical  in  character. 
His  guards  were  generally  thick  and  either  square  or 
of  the  irregularly  rounded  form  then  fashionable.  He 
died  in  1736,  at  the  age  of  seventy.  One  tsuba  by 
this  master  is  particularly  well  known  and  interesting. 
It  is  called  the  Omori-Hikohichi  tsuba,  and  tells  the 
story  of  a  female  demon_who  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful 
girl  begged  a  certain  Omori-Hikohichi  to  carry  her 
across  a  river.  Omori  complied  with  her  request,  but 
when  about  half  way  across  he  felt  his  burden  grow- 
ing heavier  and  heavier,  and  at  last  looking  up  saw 
mounted  upon  his  back  a  hideous  female  demon. 
This  guard  is  probably  known  to  every  metal  carver 
in  Japan. 

Toshinaga  II  was  a  metal  worker  and  also  a  guard 
maker,  who  copied  the  style  of  the  first  Toshinaga  and 
was  well  known  as  a  clever  worker.  His  chiselling 
has  a  rare  power  and  finish,  but  he  never  equalled  his 
master  in  strength  of  design  or  exactness  of  execution. 
He  died  in  1771. 

Natsuo  discovered  differences  in  the  signatures  of 
the  first  and  second  Toshinaga.  The  placing  of  the 
name  on  the  tsuba  and  the  character  of  the  chisel 
used,  both  serve  to  distinguish  between  their  work. 

Tsuchiya-Yasuchika,  a  very  celebrated  carver  of  the 
Nara  school,  was  a  pupil  of  Tatsumasa,  the  contempo- 
rary of  Korin  and  Toshinaga,   the  former  of  whom 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  57 

he  resembles  in  originality  of  design  and  decorative 
adaptation.  He  sometimes  used  the  name  Towu. 
His  guards  are  made  of  several  materials:  brass,  brass 
with  shibuichi  inlay  (or  vice  versa),  brass  with  inlay 
of  pewter,  or  in  combination  with  shakudo.  These 
are  very  different  from  those  of  contemporary  artists, 
because,  like  Korin,  his  dominant  idea  was  to  produce 
a  decorative  effect,  while  his  contemporaries  were 
working  out  illustrations  to  stories.  He  paid  much 
attention  to  the  choice  of  materials,  selecting  them 
with  a  view  to  color  harmony,  a  new  idea  in  metal 
work.  He  died  in  1744,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  The 
most  famous  tsuba  by  Yasuchika  is  an  iron  tsuba  rep- 
resenting the  worn  wooden  piers  of  a  bridge  with  wild 
geese  flying  across.  This  is  considered  as  rivalling  in 
artistic  excellence  the  Omori-Hikohichi  of  Toshinaga. 

Yasunobu,  a  pupil  of  the  first  Yasuchika,  later  signed 
his  work  Yasuchika,  and  is  known  as  Yasuchika  II. 
His  work  in  general  resembled  that  of  the  first  Yasu- 
chika, but  with  much  more  attention  paid  to  detail. 
In  technical  skill  he  excelled  the  first  Yasuchika,  whose 
chief  interest  lay  in  design  and  color  effect.  He  died 
in  1747  at  the  age  of  fifty-three. 

Note. —  Natsuo  has  decided  that  the  signatures  of 
the  first  and  second  Yasuchika  show  individualities  of 
writing  and  position  that  give  enough  evidence  to 
attribute  their  work  correctly. 

Sugiura-Joi,  a  pupil  of  Nara-Juyei,  is  associated  with 
Toshinaga  and  Yasuchika  as  one  of  the  three  most 
famous  artists  of  the  Nara  school.  His  manner,  how- 
ever, is  easily  distinguished  from  that  of  the  others,  for 
he  worked  low  relief  on  iron,  brass,  and  copper,  taking 


58  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

animals  for  the  most  part  as  subjects.  He  died  in  1761, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  He  uses  the  signatures  Issando 
and  Nagahara,  as  well  as  Joi  ;  his  signatures  are  re- 
markably clear-cut. 

Hamano-Shozui  (1696-1769),  a  pupil  of  Toshi- 
naga  I,  followed  his  master's  style  and  execution.  He 
is  distinguished  for  his  originality,  for,  instead  of  taking 
designs  from  the  hackneyed  pictures,  as  was  the  almost 
universal  custom,  he  drew  from  nature  and  his  own 
fancy.  He  also  signed  his  work  Itsuriuken,  Miboku, 
and  in  his  old  age  Kankei  ;  his  signatures  are  cut 
deeply  and  vigorously. 

Kaneyuki  (died  1776),  Nobuyuki  or  Tomoyuki 
(died  1793),  and  Masanobu  were  three  pupils  of  Shozui, 
all  of  whom  acquired  great  skill,  and,  like  their  teacher, 
signed  their  work  "  Itsuriuken  Miboku."  Akabumi, 
who  worked  in  Ushiu  province  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  also  a  pupil  of  Shozui ; 
he  sometimes  used  the  name  Yiirakusai. 

Kawamura-Tsuneshige,  whose  early  name  was 
Sekiguchi-Rioka,  nourished  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  He  is  said  to  have  worked  with 
great  rapidity.  His  tsuba,  some  square  in  shape  and 
others  slightly  rounded,  were  generally  of  brass,  deco- 
rated with  figures,  animals,  and  flowers. 

Jowa  was  a  nephew  of  Joi,  whom  he  closely  resem- 
bles in  style.  With  him  ends  the  Joi  style  in  the  Nara 
school  proper,  although  his  style  was  perpetuated  in 
other  schools,  for  example,  by  Sekijoken-Mototaka  of 
the  Mito  schools. 

Yasuchika  III  and  Yasuchika  IV  were  notable 
rather  for    their    name    and    training    than   for  the 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  59 

excellence  of  their  work.  The  work  of  the  third 
Yasuchika  is  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  his  signa- 
ture is  in  a  running  hand.  Yasuchika  IV,  called 
Shinsuke-Yasuchika,  worked  at  Mito  late  in  the 
eighteenth  and  early  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

Noriyuki  (or  Kuzui),  adopted  son  and  pupil  of 
Shozui,  was  a  very  painstaking  and  skillful  worker  in 
relief  of  the  Nara  school  (died  1787).  Of  his  many 
pupils  the  most  famous  were : 

Yeizui  ( or  Nagayuki ),  who  worked  during  the  third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Noriyuki  II,  who  studied  under  Noriyuki  I  and 
Yeizui,  and  flourished  late  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
He  signed  his  work  Kuse  or  Norinobu,  or  later 
Noriyuki. 

Chokuzui  (or  Naoyuki),  who  worked  at  the  same 
time  and  followed  closely  the  first  Noriyuki. 

Hiroyuki,  who,  although  a  pupil  of  the  first  Nori- 
yuki, developed  a  style  more  nearly  like  that  of  Shozui. 

Iwama-Masayoshi  won  renown  as  a  pupil  of  Yeizui 
and  Chokuzui.  He  worked  after  the  style  of  Shozui, 
on  which  account  he  was  often  called  Shozuibo.  He 
died  1837,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 

Nobuyoshi,  a  pupil  of  Nobuyuki  and  Masayoshi, 
flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Tsuchiya-Kunichika,  a  pupil  of  the  fourth  Yasu- 
chika, was  a  skilled  carver  of  sword  furniture  and  a 
tsuba  maker.  He  is  known  as  Yasuchika  V.  He 
lived  in  Yedo  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

His  sons,  Masachika,  Nagamasa,  and  Tsunechika, 
of  whom  Toshimasa  was  the  most  skillful,  followed 


60  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

the  style  of  Yasuchika,  working  in  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  eldest  assumed  the  name  of 
Yasuchika  VI,  but  this  title  was  not  recognized  by  his 
contemporaries. 

Horiye-Okinari  (or  Kosei),  although  a  pupil  of 
Shozui,  often  followed  the  manner  of  the  Omori 
school.  In  addition  to  his  reputation  as  a  tsuba  maker, 
he  is  well  known  as  a  carver  of  decorative  metal  work. 
He  worked  in  Yedo  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Chizuka-Hisanori  (second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century),  born  of  samurai  family,  served  under  the 
Daimyo  of  Mito.  At  first  he  made  sword  ornaments 
merely  for  pleasure,  but  later  devoted  himself  wholly 
to  sword  guards.  He  was  renowned  for  the  beautiful 
finish  of  his  surfaces;  his  style  closely  resembled  that 
of  the  Nara  school. 

The  Nara  school  continued  through  the  Tokugawa 
period  (about  three  hundred  years),  and  was  popular 
even  though  the  Goto  monopolized  the  court  favor. 
They  chose  more  natural  subjects  than  the  Goto.  Its 
members  had  much  influence  on  the  work  of  other 
contemporary  schools,  and  at  Yedo  received  more 
orders  than  any  others. 

NOMURA   FAMILY  (see  under  Goto  school) 


ODAWARA  SCHOOL 

The  founder  of  this  school  was  Masatsugu,  who 
lived  during  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century, 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  61 

and  worked  at  Odawara  in  Soshiu  province.  He  ex- 
celled in  minute  perforated  work  on  iron  and  shakudo, 
without  inlay.  Masayoshi,  Masakuni  I,  Masakuni  II, 
and  Masakatsu  were  other  artists  of  the  school  who 
worked  in  Hizen,  Shimosa,  and  Sagami  provinces  in 
the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

OMORI   SCHOOL 

This  school,  originally  a  branch  of  the  Nara  (the 
earliest  artist,  Shigemitsu,  was  a  pupil  of  Miidera-Ichi- 
robei),  later  followed  the  style  and  method  of  the 
Yokaya.  Teruhide  (who  died  in  1798  at  the  age  of 
sixty-nine ),  the  fifth  of  the  family,  was  the  first  artist 
of  importance.  He  was  skillful  in  reproducing  waves, 
and  invented  a  method  of  undercutting  part  of  the 
design  so  that  it  stood  out  in  relief.  This  became 
known  as  the  Omori  wave,  and  was  much  copied  by 
later  artists. 

Hideuji,  Terumitsu,  Hidetomo,  and  Hideyoshi 
were  notable  artists  of  the  Omori  school  who  worked 
during  the  later  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth 
century. 

OTSUKI   SCHOOL 

It  is  not  known  who  was  the  actual  founder  of  this 
school,  but  Otsuki-Korin,  in  Owari  province,  has  left 
his  signature  from  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  was  probably  one  of  the  first  to  become 
famous.  Later  many  artists  of  the  school  worked  in 
Kyoto. 


62  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Yoshikuni,  Mitsutsune,  and  Mitsuyoshi  made  tsuba 
as  well  as  other  metal  ornaments.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  century  a  versatile  genius,  Mitsuoki  ( son  of  Mitsu- 
yoshi), came  into  prominence.  He  far  surpassed 
his  contemporaries  in  his  command  of  design  and 
color,  and  at  first  stood  quite  alone  in  his  disregard  of 
classic  Kano  school  models,  taking  many  of  his  de- 
signs from  the  painter  Ganku,  with  whom  he  studied. 
He  signed  his  work  Tsuki-Mitsuoki,  though  he  is 
also  known  as  Shiwundo,  Riukudo,  Dairiusai,  and 
Zekuniudo. 

Mitsuhiro  and  Mitsunao,  his  sons,  who  got  their 
inspiration  from  the  same  source,  became  famous,  as 
did  also  his  three  pupils,  Masaoki  (famed  for  his 
birds),  Motohiro,  and  Okitaka,  about  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

Kawarabayashi-Hideoki,  working  during  the  first 
quarter  of  the  century,  closely  resembled  Mitsuoki,  but 
never  attained  to  his  skill,  though  he  taughtjiis  adopted 
son,  Hidekuni  ( who  worked  in  Kyoto  and  Osaka  about 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  Century ),  to  be  a  greater 
artist  than  himself.  Gessan  ( or  Gassan ),  a  pupil  work- 
ing at  the  same  time  as  Hidekuni,  also  acquired  skill 
and  fame.     He  excelled  in  depicting  wolves. 

Kano-Natsuo  was  a  pupil  of  Okitaka  and  his  son 
Takanaga,  of  the  Otsuki  school.  He  also  studied  the 
work  of  Kaneiye  and  Nobuiye,  Yasuchika,  Nagatsune, 
and  other  old  masters,  and  soon  developed  a  style  dis- 
tinctly his  own.  He  studied  in  the  Maruyama  school 
of  painting  under  Nakashima-Raisho,  and  took  many 
popular  designs  from  paintings  by  Okio.  Natsuo  was 
one  of  the  greatest  metal  artists  of  recent  times,  a  most 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  63 

careful  worker,  and  a  skillful  colorist.  During  his 
later  days  he  held  the  position  of  head  artist  at  the 
Imperial  Japanese  mint  and  professor  of  metal  work  in 
the  Tokyo  art  school.     He  died  1898. 


SADO   SCHOOL 

Sanzayemon,  most  famous  artist  of  this  school, 
worked  during  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
at  Sado  province.  His  designs  were  severe  and  regular, 
and  generally  perforated. 

The  two  Toshisada  and  Yoshihisa  worked  during 
the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  were 
known  for  their  well-tempered  iron  and  strong  per- 
forated design. 


SAOTOME  SCHOOL 

This  school  of  armorers  and  tsuba  makers  was 
probably  an  off-shoot  of  the  Miochin  school.  Iye- 
tsugu,  one  of  the  earliest  artists  of  the  school,  worked 
during  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Iyenori, 
best  known  as  an  armorer,  worked  during  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Iyemichi  and  Iyemitsu  were 
guard  makers  of  the  Saotome  family  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Iyesada  was  a  sword-smith 
and  maker  of  iron  sword  guards  of  exceedingly  fine 
temper,  often  perforated,  and  inlaid  with  shakudS.  He 
flourished  during  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury.    He  was  associated  with  the  Saotome  school. 


64  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

SEIJO   SCHOOL 

This  school  was  founded  by  Goto-Seijo  (or  Mitsu- 
toyo;  died  in  1734  at  the  age  of  seventy-two),  a  metal 
worker  of  the  Goto  school  who  made  but  few  tsuba. 
The  second  of  the  school,  Seijo-Mitsuzane  ( died  1750 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two),  worked  in  relief,  and  also  did 
inlay  in  the  nunome  style.  He  often  used  the  water 
dragon  on  his  guards  and  delighted  in  carving  curious 
flowers.  He  always  signed  work  in  nunome  gold 
inlay. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  demand  for  foreign 
designs,  and  this  school  turned  out  many  guards  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Canton  style.  The  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  exponents  of  the  school  used  the  same  signa- 
ture, "Seijo."  The  sixth  Seij5,  sometimes  known  as 
Harumitsu,  Sessai,  or  Shiunchin,  was  famed  for  his 
excellent  composition  and  detail.  Many  of  his  pupils 
became  famous. 

SHOAMI   SCHOOL 

Was  founded  at  Nishijin,  in  Kyoto.  The  first 
carver  was  Masanori,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  some 
consider  that  Norisada  was  earlier.  He  was  a  pupil  of 
the  Umetada  school  during  the  first  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  but  soon  adopted  the  style  of  the  Goto. 
Takatsune,  his  pupil,  carried  along  his  work.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  those  who  had 
studied  with  the  Shoami  masters  at  Kyoto  founded 
branch  schools  in  their  native  provinces  all  over  Japan. 
By  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  were 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  65 

branches  in  Aidzu  and  Morioka,  Oshiu  province; 
Shonai  and  Kameda,  Ushiu  province;  Tsuyama,  Saku- 
shiu  province;  Matsuyama,  Yoshiu  province;  and  Ku- 
rume,  Chikushiu  province. 

Among  the  best  men  of  the  time  were  Dennai, 
Morikuni,  Moritomi,  Shigesada,  Shigetsune,  Kane- 
mori,  Matahichi,  and  Tsunayoshi.  The  artists  of 
Shoami  worked  all  over  Japan  except  in  Yedo,  where 
the  other  schools  were  more  popular.  Most  of  their 
work  was  done  for  the  smaller  towns. 

SOTEN  SCHOOL  (HIKONE  TSUBA) 

Kitagawa-Soten  (also  called  Soheishi),  who  lived  in 
Hikone  in  Goshiu  province,  founded  this  school.  He 
worked  in  high  relief  and  perforation,  generally  choos- 
ing as  his  subjects  Chinese  figures  in  landscapes.  His 
faces  he  made  by  inlaying  copper  or  silver.  The  land- 
scapes were  composed  of  gold  and  silver  inlay.  He 
flourished  late  in  the  seveenteenth  and  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Ordinarily  the  place  where  he 
lived  was  prefixed  to  his  signature,  for  example,  Goshiu- 
Hikone;  hence  the  name  Hikone  tsuba,  which  is  some- 
times applied  to  his  works.  They  are  also  known  as 
Mogarashi-tsuba,  from  a  popular  reading  of  the  Chinese 
character  "Soheishi." 

Shiuten  is  thought  by  some  critics  to  be  an  early 
signature  of  Kitagawa-Soten,  by  others  to  be  the  sig- 
nature of  his  predecessor;  more  probably  he  was  a 
distinct  artist  of  this  school. 

Masashige,  Kanetane,  Yoshitake,  and  Kanenori 
were  later  artists  of  this  same  school. 


66  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Nomura-Kanenori  was  an  expert  metal  worker 
whose  design  and  treatment  resembled  those  of  Soten. 
He  lived  at  Hikone  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  His  signature  is  often  found,  together 
with  the  characters  Kanyeishi. 

Noriyoshi,  or  Tokurio,  a  native  of  Aidzu,  imitated 
the  work  of  the  Hikone  tsuba  masters  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Soken  (Yiumeishi),  a  pupil  of  Nomura-Kanenori, 
worked  after  the  style  of  the  S5ten  school  in  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Hiragiya  tsuba  resemble  in  general  design  and  ex- 
ecution those  of  the  Soten  school,  the  differences  being 
that  the  subjects  chosen  are  Japanese  instead  of  Chi- 
nese, and  the  technique  is  more  full  and  rounded,  and 
gives  the  effect  of  modelling.  The  best  guards  were 
made  during  the  late  eighteenth  century.  Their  au- 
thorship is  unknown,  as  none  of  them  are  signed. 
Hiragiya  was  probably  the  name  of  an  Aidzu  merchant 
who  dealt  in  this  kind  of  tsuba. 


SUNAGAWA  SCHOOL 

This  school  was  founded  in  Yedo  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  by  Masatora,  of  the  Akasaka 
school.  Later  members  were  Masachika,  Masanori, 
and  Masayoshi,  who  worked  from  the  late  eighteenth 
through  the  early  nineteenth  century.  These  later 
artists  were  somewhat  influenced  by  the  I  to  school. 

Otaka-Hironaga,  a  pupil  of  Masachika  of  the  Suna- 
gawa  school  in  Yedo,  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  open 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  67 

work   and  the  bright,   highly  finished  surface  of   his 
guards.     He  worked  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

TANAKA   SCHOOL  (see  under  Goto  school) 

TEMPO   TSUBA 

These  guards  were  first  produced  at  Sanoda,  in 
Yamashiro  province.  It  is  probable  that  the  name 
Tempo  perpetuates  that  of  a  seventeenth  century  artist, 
though  it  was  not  until  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  they  became  well  known.  The  pecul- 
iarity of  this  school  is  the  signed  character  tempo  (often 
the  character  tern  only  is  stamped )  which  was  put  on 
the  sword  guards  before  the  final  heating  of  the  steel. 

Hirokuni,  a  guard  maker  of  Sendai,  in  Oshiu 
province,  worked  during  the  late  eighteenth  century. 
His  tsuba  are  similar  to  those  made  in  the  Tempo  style, 
being  stamped  with  a  die. 

Mitsuhaya,  a  guard  maker  of  Kyoto,  worked  in  the 
Tempo  manner  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  name  Kiami  is  considered  by  some  critics  to 
be  another  name  of  the  Hoan  family.  Kiami  was  a 
tsuba  maker  of  Geishiu  province,  who  made  use  of 
stamps  or  dies  of  flower  subjects  after  the  manner 
of  the  Tempo  school.  He  worked  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

TETSUGENDO   SCHOOL 

The  first  of  the  workers  in  this  manner  was  Oka- 
moto-Naoshige,  a  pupil  of  Kuniharu  of  Kyoto.  His 
name  is  associated  with  those  of  the  famous  Nagatsune 


68  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

and  Kasutsura  of  Kyoto,  but  of  the  three  he  is  con- 
sidered the  best  iron  worker.  His  early  signature  was 
"Toshiyuki,"  his  latter  one  "  Tetsugendo  Seiraku," 
or  Shoraku.  The  designs  used  by  him  are  often  taken 
from  the  drawings  of  Hanabusa-Itcho.  After  his  death, 
in  1780,  the  following  pupils  carried  on  his  work: 
Naofusa,  Naokata,  Naomichi,  Naotomo,  Shigemoto, 
and  Takenori. 

TOJIBATA  TSUBA 

Morishige  and  Kaneshige  are  the  best  known  artists 
of  this  school,  which  flourished  in  the  province  of 
Sekishiu  or  Iwami  late  in  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
members  of  the  Tojibata  were  skillful  at  open  work 
and  slight  surface  chiselling. 

TORIUSAI   SCHOOL 

Tanaka-Toriusai-Kiyotoshi,  of  Yedo,  founded  this 
school  during  the  nineteenth  century.  He  was  self- 
taught,  though  influenced  by  the  Ishiguro  school.  His 
special  contribution  to  the  art  was  an  invention  for 
making  inlay  by  cutting  successive  Y-shaped  grooves 
instead  of  using  the  regular  cross-hatched  grooves  of 
nunome-zogan.  Hidenaga,  Toshihide,  and  Toshikage 
were  skillful  pupils  of  Toriusai,  Toshikage  being  espe- 
cially famed  as  a  master  artist  in  tsuba  making  and 
other  metal  work. 

UMETADA  SCHOOL 

The  members  of  the  Umetada  school,  many 
branches    of  which    were   scattered    throughout    the 


SCHOOLS  OF  TSUBA  MAKERS  69 

country,  were  both  tsuba  makers  and  swordsmiths. 
Shigeyoshi,  a  far-famed  maker  of  sword  ornaments, 
served  under  the  patronage  of  the  Shogun  Ashikaga- 
Yoshimitsu  during  the  late  fourteenth  century.  Miojiu, 
son  of  Shigetaka,  was  another  swordsmith  and  guard 
maker  of  great  ability,  who  served  the  last  Ashikaga 
Shogun  and  Taiko  during  the  sixteenth  century.  He 
was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  new  style  of  sword 
which  appeared  about  this  time.  His  son,  Shigeyoshi, 
famous  for  his  carving  on  sword  blades,  also  made 
tsuba;  he  served  under  the  Tokugawa  family  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  Umetada 
ingeniously  combined  the  styles  of  preceding  schools. 
They  worked  on  iron,  were  exceedingly  good  at  inlay 
of  shakudo,  gold,  and  silver,  and  excelled  in  low  relief 
and  open  or  perforated  work. 

Shigenaga,  son  of  Shigeyoshi,  served  the  Tokugawa- 
Shogun  after  the  latter  retired. 

Shigenari,  Hikobei,  Muneshige,  Narishige,  Shig- 
echika,  and  Yoshinaga,  who  followed  this  style,  worked 
from  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  to  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 

Naritsugu  (died  1752  or  1755)  was  the  last  impor- 
tant artist  of  the  Umetada  school.  Unlike  the  other 
members  of  his  family,  who  preferred  to  live  in  Kyoto, 
Naritsugu  removed  to  Yedo.  He  gave  up  making 
swords  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  sword  ornaments. 
The  dragon  known  as  the  "Umetada  dragon"  was 
first  designed  by  him.  It  can  be  recognized  by  its 
minute  eyes  and  scales. 

Ichiwo,  a  guard  maker  of  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth  century,    whose   well-tempered   and   skillfully 


70  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

made  sword  guards  were  of  a  light  brownish  color,  was 
perhaps  the  first  to  replace  the  character  ume  in  the 
signature  of  the  school,  by  a  carving  of  the  plum 
flower  itself,  ume  being  the  Japanese  for  "plum." 

The  Umetada  school  has  the  names  of  many  famous 
swordsmiths  who  made  blades  decorated  in  relief,  as 
well  as  tsuba  makers,  enrolled  on  its  lists.  Pupils 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  this  school  and  made  it  one 
of  the  three  most  famous.  In  order  of  excellence 
would  come,  first,  the  Kaneiye  school,  next  Nobuiye 
and  his  followers,  and  third  the  Umetada  group. 

YAMAKICHI   STYLE 

Yamakichi  was  a  native  of  Owari  province  who 
during  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  made  thin 
strong  guards  with  small  perforations.  It  is  said  that 
his  guards  could  be  hammered  in  a  mortar  without 
breaking.  Yagiu,  a  celebrated  fencer  and  teacher  of 
the  third  Shogun,  was  exceedingly  fond  of  them  and 
made  them  popular. 

Yamakichibei  was  a  pupil  of  the  first  Yamakichi 
'whose  skillfully  tempered  iron  shows  a  curiously 
grained  surface  produced  by  a  special  method  of  riling 
sometimes  in  parallel  and  sometimes  in  radiating  lines. 
The  shape  of  his  guards  was  quite  varied.  He  worked 
during  the  late  sixteenth  and  early  seventeenth  century. 

YOKOYA  SCHOOL 

This  school,  founded  in  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  confined  its  attention  for  the  most  part 


SCHOOLS   OF  TSUBJ  MAKERS  71 

to  ornamental  sword  fitting,  the  making  of  tsuba  being 
a  side  issue.  The  name  of  the  first  artist  was  Soyo 
( called  "  Grandfather  Soyo  "  ),  but  the  most  famous  of 
the  school  was  Somin,  an  intimate  of  Hanabusa-Itcho, 
a  versatile  painter  noted  for  his  humorous  pictures, 
many  of  which  Somin  used  as  designs  for  sword  guards. 
He  carried  the  katakiri-bori  (imitation  of  brush  stroke) 
to  the  highest  point  of  perfection.  In  this  work  he 
often  made  use  of  shibuichi. 

Soyo  II  (died  1779),  Somin  II,  Kiriusai-Soyo, 
and  Kiriusai-Somin  (late  eighteenth  to  early  nine- 
teenth century),  all  had  pupils  who  carried  out  their 
style. 

Terukiyo  I  and  II,  Katsura  (Yeiju),  Miyake- 
Terumitsu,  and  Furukawa-Genchin,  were  the  most 
famous  pupils  who  worked  during  the  second  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 

Kikuchi-Tsunekatsu,  although  a  pupil  of  Inagawa- 
Naokatsu  of  the  Yanagawa  school,  made  use  of  a  style 
which  resembled  that  of  Somin.  He  was  a  maker  of 
many  decorated  objects  other  than  tsuba,  and  was  a 
master  of  the  katakiri  style  of  carving.  His  work  dates 
from  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Tsuneoki  ( son  of  Inagawa-Naokatsu,  or,  according 
to  one  account,  Kikuchi-Tsunekatsu),  Tsunemitsu, 
and  Tsunefusa,  were  his  best  known  pupils. 

Tsunemasa,  a  worker  of  horse  armor,  also  made 
guards.  He  was  skilled  in  producing  finely  tempered 
iron  and  well  finished  perforated  tsuba.  Although 
originally  of  the  Yokoya  school,  he  later  was  influenced 
by  the  Ito  style.  He  worked  during  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 


72  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Yanagawa  Family 

This  school,  which  started  late  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  an  offshoot  of  the  Yokoya  school.  Masat- 
sugu  and  Naomasa  were  its  leading  exponents.  Their 
style  was  similar  to  that  of  the  main  school  and  the 
subjects  used  by  them  were  flowers  and  animals  in 
relief. 

Naohisa,  Naomitsu,  and  Inagawa  Naokatsu,  pupils 
of  Naomasa,  were  skillful  artists.  Naoharu,  son  of 
Naohisa,  was  a  famous  and  popular  metal-worker,  and 
many  students  worked  under  him.  He  flourished 
during  the  later  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  early  nine- 
teenth century. 

Haruaki,  pupil  of  Naoharu,  combined  his  own 
early  style,  acquired  under  Naoharu,  with  that  of  the 
Got5  school.  *He  generally  treated  subjects  taken 
from  old  philosophical  writings  or  from  popular  stories. 
He  received  the  title  of  "  Hogen  "  and  is  ranked  as  one 
of  the  three  greatest  artists  of  recent  times.  He  died 
in  1859.  His  pupil  also,  Tanabe-Tomomasa,  won 
renown  for  his  tsuba. 

Rinsendo  Family 

Tsuji-Mitsumasa,  a  follower  of  the  Yokoya  style  in 
Goshiu  province,  famous  for  his  muskets  as  well  as  his 
tsuba,  was  the  first  of  the  family.  In  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  he  was  influenced  by  the  Nara  school.  He 
died  in  1776.  Tadasuke,  also  a  musket  maker,  became 
well  known  as  a  worker  in  iron  and  inlay  during  the 
second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  at  which  time 
the  other  members  of  the  family,  Sukeshige  and 
Tsunenari,  were  most  famous. 


SECTION   III 

A  catalogue  of  the  present  exhibition  (1907-1908), 
including  notes  on  certain  examples. 

The  tsuba  are  arranged  in  a  Western  Series  and  an 
Eastern  Series  ( see  map  on  page  28 ). 


WESTERN  SERIES  75 

WESTERN   SERIES 

1 .  Conventional  chrysanthemum :  iron.  Miochin 
school.     Sixteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

2.  Kiri  and  gourd  design :  iron,  perforated.  Kana- 
yama  style.     Late  sixteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

The  kiri  is  a  common  plant  in  Japan,  and  combina-, 
tions  of  its  leaves  and  flowers  are  often  used  for  family 
crests  and  decorative  purposes.  The  Taiko-Hideyoshi, 
a  famous  general  who  held  supreme  power  over  Japan 
for  many  years,  used  the  flower  and  leaves  of  the  kiri 
for  his  crest.  He  also  used  the  gourd  design,  and  it  is 
said  that  for  every  victory  in  battle  he  added  a  new 
golden  gourd,  until  at  last  he  bore  the  "banner  of  the 
thousand  gourds." 

3.  Crab  and  bamboo  design:  iron,  brass  inlay. 
Miochin  school.  Late  sixteenth  century.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

4.  Maple  and  deer:  iron,  brass  inlay.  Yoshiro 
style.  Late  sixteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank  Jewett 
Mather,  Jr. 

5.  Ivy  leaves:  iron,  brass  inlay.  Yoshiro  style. 
Late  sixteenth  century.     Lent  by  Mrs.  Russell  Robb. 

6.  Bamboo  and  crabs :  iron,  silver  and  brass  inlay. 
Fushimi  style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

During  the  twelfth  century,  at  the  time  of  the  wars 
for  feudal  supremacy  between  the  Heike  and  Genji 
families,  the  Heike  knights  were  defeated,  and  after 
their  last  stand,  off  Dannoura  beach,  leaped  into  the 


76  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

sea  in  hundreds  and  were  drowned.  A  species  of  crab 
found  near  Dannoura  bears  upon  its  back  markings 
strangely  like  the  features  of  a  fierce  warrior.  It  is 
therefore  known  as  the  '*  Heike  crab,"  and  each  is 
popularly  believed  to  contain  within  its  shell  the  angry 
spirit  of  a  drowned  Heike  knight.  These  crabs  be- 
came favorite  tsuba  subjects,  and  later  the  common 
crab  (as  shown  in  this  example)  was  also  introduced. 

7.  Waves  and  running  hare:  iron,  brass  inlay. 
Yoshiro  style.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 

In  China  and  Japan  the  moon  is  supposed  to  be 
inhabited  by  a  hare.  A  hare  running  on  the  waves  is 
a  symbol  of  moonlight  playing  on  the  water. 

8.  Autumn  flowers  with  mantis  and  dragon  fly: 
iron,  various  metal  inlays.  Kaga  style.  Middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

9.  Bag  and  staff  design :  iron,  perforated,  wood 
grain  surface.  Yamakichibei  style.  Late  sixteenth 
century.     Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

10.  Kiri  design :  iron,  perforated.  Jingo  style, 
Higo  province.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

11.  Sword  and  biwa:  iron,  perforated.  Higo 
school.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Lent  by 
Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

12.  Kiri  design:  iron,  perforated.  Higo  school. 
Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank 
Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 


WESTERN  SERIES  77 

13.  Pine  tree  and  sail  boat:  iron,  perforated. 
Higo  school.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Ross  Col- 
lection. 

14.  Plum  tree:  iron,  perforated.  Fusayoshi  style, 
Higo  school.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by 
Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

15.  Pine  tree:  iron,  perforated.  Higo  style. 
Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank 
Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

16.  Grass  and  new  moon  design :  iron,  perforated. 
Higo  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

17.  Snow-flakes:  iron,  perforated.  Higo  style. 
Early  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank  Jewett 
Mather,  Jr. 

18.  Conventional  design  of  crest:  iron,  perforated. 
Hoan  style.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank 
Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

19.  Thunder  God:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Nagasone,  swordsmith,  and  Mototoshi,  tsuba  artist. 
Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

20.  Dragon  design:  iron,  perforated  and  set  with 
crystal  eye.  Signed  by  Suzuki-Seibei.  Heianjo  school. 
Second  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

21.  Howo  bird :  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Heianjo 
school.     Late  seventeenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 


78  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

22.  Chrysanthemum  on  a  trellis:  iron,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Heianjo  style.  Late  seventeenth  century, 
Ross  Collection. 

23.  Conventional  design,  dragon  and  cloud :  iron. 
Heianjo  style;  Canton  influence  is  also  perceptible. 
Late  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

24.  Seri,  a  Japanese  vegetable :  iron,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Heianjo  style.  Late  seventeenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

25.  Butterflies:  iron,  perforated,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Heianjo  style.  Late  seventeenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

26.  Turnips :  iron,  perforated.  Heianjo  style. 
Late  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

27.  Monkeys  on  a  pine  tree :  iron,  perforated,  cop- 
per inlay.  Heianjo  style.  Late  seventeenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

28.  Mouse  running  up  a  straw  rope  curtain :  iron, 
perforated,  nunome  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Heianjo 
style.     Late  seventeenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

29.  Spinning  reels:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay. 
Heianjo  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 

30.  Daruma  on  the  sea :  iron.  Kaneiyel(P).  Six- 
teenth century.  (Compare  No.  66  of  Western  Series. ) 
Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  79 

3 1 .  Fisherman  in  the  moonlight :  iron,  low  relief. 
Signed  by  Kaneiye  II.  Early  seventeenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 

32.  Signs  of  the  Zodiac:  iron;  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Kaneiye  II.  Early  seven- 
teenth century.     Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

The  Japanese  symbols  of  the  months  of  the  year 
and  the  days  of  the  months  are  as  follows:  the  rat, 
cow,  tiger,  rabbit,  dragon,  snake,  horse,  sheep, 
monkey,  hen,  dog,  and  wild  hog. 

33.  Fisherman :  iron.  Signed  by  Kaneiye  II. 
Early  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

34.  Benkei  at  Gojo  Bridge:  iron,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Kaneiye  II  style.  Late  seventeenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

Benkei,  the  slayer  of  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
knights  on  the  bridge  of  Gojo,  at  last  meets  his  match 
in  youthful  Yoshitsune  and  forever  after  becomes  his 
devoted  follower.  Benkei  was  said  to  have  had  the 
strength  of  one  hundred  men,  to  have  been  eight  feet 
in  height,  and  to  have  carried  many  different  weapons, 
each  of  which  he  wielded  with  consummate  skill. 

35.  Wild  geese  flying  over  temple:  iron,  slight 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Kaneiye  II.  Early  seventeenth 
century.     Ross  Collection. 

36.  Frog  under  a  rush,  watching  dragon  flies: 
iron,  gold  inlay.  Kaneiye  style.  Late  eighteenth  cen- 
turv.     Bigelow  Collection. 


80  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

37.  Dragon  design:  iron,  low  relief,  gold  inlay. 
Tetsunin  style.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

38.  Daruma  in  meditation:  iron,  low  relief,  gold 
inlay.  Tetsunin  style.  Late  seventeenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

Daruma,  a  patron  saint  of  the  Zen  sect,  is  said  to 
have  sat  so  long  in  meditation  that  his  legs  shrivelled 
away.  Probably  no  single  subject  in  Japan  is  more 
commonly  used  by  artists  and  decorators  than  '  *  Da- 
ruma Sama ' '  in  meditation. 

39.  Summer  house  and  flying  geese  in  moonlight  : 
iron.  Kaneiye  style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

40.  Wild  geese  feeding :  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay. 
Kaneiye  style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

41.  Butterfly:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Kaneiye  II.  Early  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

42.  Wild  geese  in  the  rain  flying  over  a  bridge: 
iron.  Signed  by  Yoshitane.  Early  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

43.  Landscape :  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Kaneiye 
style.     Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

44.  Map  of  Ancient  Japan,  province  names  in 
gold:  nunome  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Shigeyoshi. 
Umetada  school.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  81 

45.  Chrysanthemum  and  stream:  iron,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Shigeyoshi.  Umetada  school. 
Ross  Collection. 

The  chrysanthemum  and  stream  formed  the  crest 
of  the  Kusunoki  family,  and  as  such  were  always  favorite 
subjects  with  the  samurai  on  account  of  the  pre-emi- 
nent patriotism  and  devotion  of  Kusunoki  Masashige 
to  the  unfortunate  Emperor  Go-Daigo  in  the  fourteenth 
century. 

46.  Kimono-rack:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay. 
Umetada  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

47.  Interlocking  squares,  with  gold  inlaid  scroll 
design :  iron.  Umetada  school.  Middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

48.  Conventional  flower  and  wheel  design :  iron, 
perforated,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Shigetsugu.  Ume- 
tada style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

49.  Wheel  design:  iron,  silver  inlay.  Umetada 
school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

50.  Chrysanthemum  and  cherry  blossom :  iron. 
Tadatsugu  style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 

51.  Namban  style  of  design:  iron,  perforated,  low 
relief.  Umetada  influence.  Second  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.     Ross  Collection. 

52.  Dragon  and  sword  design :  iron.  Umetada 
style.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 


82  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

53.  Dragon  and  fan  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Umetada  influence.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 

54.  Fallen  leaves:  iron,  various  metals  inlaid. 
Umetada  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

55.  Heron  on  willow  tree:  iron,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Signed  by  Umetada  Ichiwo.  Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

56.  Torii  (temple  gate)  and  pigeon :  iron.  Umetada 
school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

57.  Dragon  and  tiger:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Umetada.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

This  tsuba  bears  the  later  signature  of  the  Umetada 
school,  —  a  plum  blossom,  "Ume,"  followed  by  the 
character  "tada." 

58.  Plum  tree:  low  relief,  gold  inlay.  Umetada. 
school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

59.  Dance  bells :  iron,  perforated.  Umetada  school. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

60.  Chinese  fan-baton  of  shakudo,  and  depressed 
shapes.  SaotOme  school.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

61.  Conventional  cloud  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Saotome  school.  Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  83 

62.  Inlaid  designs  of  shakudo.  Saotome  school. 
Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

63.  Dance  bells:  iron,  perforated.  Saotome  style. 
Late  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

64.  String  of  prayer  beads :  iron,  perforated.  Sao- 
tome style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

65.  Irregular  perforated  design:  iron.  Saotome 
style.     Late  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

66.  Flowering  vines  and  butterfly :  iron,  gold  and 
silver  inlay.  Mixed  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

67.  Flower  and  poem  design:  iron,  gilt  copper 
inlay.  Signed  by  Tadatsugu.  Late  seventeenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

68.  Cherry  flower  and  ripple  design:  iron,  perfo- 
rated. Signed  by  Tadatsugu.  Late  seventeenth  cen- 
tury.    Ross  Collection. 

69.  Yebisu  and  Daikoku,  Gods  of  luck:  lacquered 
copper.  Signed  by  Iyetsugu  of  Yamato  province. 
Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Ross  Col- 
lection. 

Two  of  the  Shichi-Fukujiu,  or  seven  Gods  of 
Good  Fortune.  Daikoku,  with  the  mallet  and  rice 
bales,  grants  worldly  prosperity  to  farmers  and  others 
who  do  him  honor.  Yebisu,  the  fisherman,  is  the 
tutelary  God  of  fishermen  and  sailors. 


84  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

70.  Tiger  and  bamboo:  iron.  Iyetsugu  style,  in 
Yamato  province.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Lent  by  Miss  Louise  M.  Nathurst. 

71.  Landscape:  iron,  copper  inlay.  Shoami  style. 
Very  early  eighteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

72.  Thunder  God  and  Wind  God:  iron,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Soten.  Very  early  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

The  Wind  God  carries  a  huge  bag  from  which  he 
allows  breezes  or  tempests  to  issue  as  he  loosens  the 
strings  or  throws  wide  the  mouth. 

73.  Hotei,  swastika,  and  treasure  symbols:  iron, 
various  metals  inlaid.  Signed  by  Soten.  Very  early 
eighteenth  century. 

Hotei  is  one  of  the  seven  Gods  of  Good  Luck, 
originally  a  fat  jolly  Chinese  priest,  exceedingly  fond 
of  children.  He  is  shown  leaning  on  the  bag  of  good 
things  from  which  he  is  inseparable,  and  from  which 
he  gets  his  name,  hotei,  meaning  cloth  bag. 

74.  Chinese  figures,  and  landscape.  Signed  by 
Soten.  Very  early  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

75.  The  three  amusements,  viewing  pictures,  play- 
ing go,  and  music:  iron.  Soten  style.  Very  early 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

76.  Historical  scene  of  the  Heike  wars  of  the 
twelfth  century :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Soten  style.  Mid 
die  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Yoshitsune  captured  the  fortress  of  Ichinotani  bv  an 


WESTERN  SERIES  85 

assault  from  the  rear  down  what  was  considered  an 
impassable  cliff.  He  discovered  the  practicability  of 
the  passage  by  first  sending  over  it  two  riderless  horses, 
one  white  as  representing  his  own  colors,  and  the  other 
red  for  those  of  the  enemy.  The  red  horse  was  dashed 
to  pieces,  but  the  white  one  successfully  leapt  upon  the 
castle  roof. 

77.  Chinese  figures  playing  go :  copper,  perforated. 
Soten  style.  Very  early  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

78.  Tawaratoda  bringing  a  temple  bell  from  Riugu 
to  Miidera  Church:  iron,  perforated,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Hiragiya  style.  Early  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

79.  Two  hunters  of  Northern  China:  iron,  per- 
forated, gold  inlay.  Hiragiya  style.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

80.  Plum  tree  and  stork :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Soten 
style.     Early  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

81.  The  fox  trapper:  iron,  perforated;  gold,  sha- 
kudo,  and  copper  inlay.  Hiragiya  style.  Very  early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

82.  Idaten,  a  Heavenly  guardian,  pursuing  a 
demon :  iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay.  Soten  style. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

83.  Dragon  design:  iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Yoshikawa-Kanetane.  Soten  school.  Mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 


86  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

84.  The  battle  at  Uji  Bridge  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury: shakudo,  various  inlays.  Signed  by  Kanenori, 
Soten  school.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

85.  Benkei  and  Ushiwaka  fighting  on  Gojo  Bridge: 
iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay.  Hiragiya  style.  Early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

86.  Hakui  and  Shikusei,  Chinese  historical  char- 
acters: iron,  gold  and  brass  inlay.  Soten  school. 
Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

87.  Tsuzumi  ( drum  used  in  No  dance )  and  letter 
box  design:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Hiragiya  style.  Very 
early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

88.  Inro  and  tobacco  pouch  design:  iron,  perfo- 
rated, nunome  gold  inlay.  Kyo-tsuba.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

89.  Conventional  rice-ear  design :  iron,  perforated, 
gold  inlay.  Kyo-tsuba.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

90.  Aoi  leaf  and  conventional  outline  design  of  the 
same :  iron,  perforated.  Kyo-tsuba.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

91.  Chrysanthemum  and  lotus  flower  design :  iron, 
stamp  work.  After  Tempo  style.  Signed  by  Tansuishi. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

92.  Tempo  tsuba:  iron,  with  outside  edge  of  sha- 
kudo. Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  Tempo 
style  of  guard  is  very  rare.     Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  87 

93.  Autumn  flowers:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by 
Kiami.  Tempo  style.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

94.  Ideographs:  iron,  shakudo  inlay.  Tempo 
style.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

95.  Driftwood  design :  iron,  applied  brass.  After 
Tempo  style.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Ross  Col- 
lection. 

96.  Miyajima  temple:  iron,  perforated,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Kyo-tsuba.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Ross  Collection. 

97.  Nanten,  "Winter  flower"  :  iron,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Mixed  style.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

98.  Howo  bird  and  kiri  flower  design :  iron,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Mixed  style.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

99.  Flying  dragon:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Tadafusa  of  Kuwana  in  Ise  province. 
Mixed  style.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

100.  Howo  bird  and  kiri  design :  iron,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Bikio  of  Kyoto.  Mixed  style. 
Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

101.  Screen  design:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay. 
Mixed  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 


88  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

102.  Hotei  and  children  at  play:  iron,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Mixed  style.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

103.  Dragonfly:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay  on  re- 
lief work.  Joyen  style  ( made  in  Kyoto ).  Early  nine- 
teenth century.     Weld  Collection. 

104.  Landscape:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay  on  relief 
work.  Late  Jiakushi  style.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 

105.  Wave  and  flower  design:  iron,  perforated, 
nunome  gold  inlay.  Awa  school.  Second  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

106.  Pine  tree  and  bridge:  iron,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Awa  school.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Ross  Collection. 

107.  Temple  scene :  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Awa 
school.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Ross  Collection. 

108.  Howo  bird  in  circular  and  perforated  design: 
iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Awa  school.  Second 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

109.  Flat  boat  and  towers,  shakudo :  inlay  of  various 
metals  and  katakiri  chisel  work.  Signed  by  Hosono- 
Masamori.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

110.  The  birth  of  the  year:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Nagatsune.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  89 

111.  Shoki  the  Demon  Queller:  brass,  katakiri 
chisel  work.  Style  of  Ichinomiya-Nagatsune.  Second 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

112.  Shoki  and  demon  depicted  on  a  banner.  Un- 
doubtedly by  Nagatsune.  Second  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Shoki,  the  demon  slayer,  is  a  Chinese  mythological 
character  who  chastises  the  spirits  of  evil.  He  is  often 
represented  on  the  banner  which  is  displayed  on  the 
fronts  of  Japanese  houses  at  the  time  of  the  Boy's 
Festival,  May  5th. 

113.  Kanzan  and  Jittoku  reading  a  scroll:  iron, 
gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Sadatsune,  Ichino- 
miya  school.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

Kanzan  and  Jittoku  are  two  young,  eccentric  fol- 
lowers of  the  Zen  doctrine  in  the  Tang  dynasty.  They 
were  supposed  to  be  manifestations  of  the  Bodhisatvas 
Monju  and  Fugen. 

114.  Chinese  boys  enjoying  a  cock  fight:  iron, 
various  inlaid  metals.  Ichinomiya  school.  Early 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

One  of  the  Emperors  of  the  Tang  dynasty  in  China, 
being  born  in  the  Year  of  the  Cock,  adopted  cock-fight- 
ing as  the  court  amusement,  and  invited  five  hundred 
small  boys  to  take  part  in  the  game. 

115.  Pilgrims  outside  a  temple  gate:  iron;  gold, 
silver,  and  copper  inlay.  Ichinomiya  style.  Signed 
by  Tadayuki.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 


90  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

116.  Pigeon  and  flowers:  iron,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Signed  by  Aritsune,  pupil  of  Kasutsura.  Late 
eighteenth  to  early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

117.  Pine  tree  design :  iron.  Signed  by  Naoshige, 
Tetsugendo  school.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

118.  Dragons  and  treasure  ball  design  :  iron,  per- 
forated. Tetsugendo  school.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

119.  Flying  cranes  and  waves:  iron,  slight  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  TetsugendS-Seiraku.  Third  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

120.  Dragon  design :  iron.  Tetsugendo  style. 
Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

121.  A  threatening  thunder  storm:  iron,  gold  and 
copper  inlay.  Tetsugendo  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

A  popular  design  taken  from  a  picture  by  Hana- 
busa-Itcho,  representing  all  sorts  of  people  seeking  a 
shelter  during  a  storm. 

122.  Sparrows  and  rice  sheath:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Naofusa,  a  pupil  of  Naoshige;  Tetsugendo 
school.    Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

123.  Shiu-kaido,  "Autumn  flower":  iron,  per- 
forated, nunome  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Naofusa, 
Tetsugendo  school.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  91 

124.  Ika  (cuttlefish)  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Tetsugendo  style.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

125.  Howo  birds:  iron,  perforated.  Tetsugendo 
style.     Early  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

126.  Dragonflies:  iron,  perforated.  Tetsugendo 
style.     Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

127.  Lions  at  play  under  waterfall:  iron,  perfo- 
rated. Tetsugendo  style.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

128.  Peony:  iron.  Signed  by  Yoshikatsu,  a  sword- 
smith;  Tetsugendo  style.  Dated  1816.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

129.  Unrolled  makimono :  iron,  perforated.  Signed 
by  Morikuni,  Shoami  school.  Middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Lent  by  Miss  Louise  M.  Nathurst. 

130.  Monkey  in  a  peach  tree:  iron.  Signed  by 
Moritomi,  Shoami  school.  Made  in  1819.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

131.  Cock  and  drum:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Shoami 
school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

A  certain  virtuous  emperor  of  China  ordered  a 
great  drum  to  be  placed  outside  the  palace  gate  so  that 
any  one  with  a  grievance  might,  by  beating  on  it,  sum- 
mon him  to  give  audience.  The  government,  how- 
ever, was  so  well  conducted  that  the  drum  was  never 
sounded,  and  at  last,  overgrown  with  weeds  and  spider 
webs,  it  became  a  roosting  place  for  birds. 


92  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

132.  Eel  and  cuttlefish :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Shoami 
school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

133.  Wave  and  kiri  crest  design:  iron,  gold  inlay- 
Awa  style.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

134.  Lotus  design:  iron,  silver  inlay.  Awa  style. 
Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

135.  Deer  and  autumn  flowers:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Goto  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

136.  Narcissus  design:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Goto 
style.     Early  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

137.  Autumn  flowers:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay. 
Goto  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

138.  Kiri  crests :  shakudo,  gold  inlay.  Goto  school. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

The  three  and  five  flower  kiri  crest  was  permitted 
to  others  than  those  of  the  Imperial  family.  The  five 
and  seven  flower  kiri  crest  was  always  Imperial. 

139.  Narihira  journeying  to  the  East  (designed 
from  a  picture  by  Hanabusa-Itcho)  :  shakud5,  gold  and 
silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Goto-Ichij5.  Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

An  interesting  comparison  may  be  made  between 
this  representation  by  the  artist  Itcho  and  the  accepted 


WESTERN  SERIES  93 

traditional  treatment  of  the  same  subject  shown  on  No. 
443  (Eastern  series).  Itcho  with  characteristic  dis- 
regard of  custom  and  propriety,  has  shown  the  famous 
man  lolling  in  sleep  upon  a  farm  horse  led  by  a  country 
lad. 

140.  Wading  heron  and  rush  :  iron,  silver  and  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Ichijo;  dated  1850.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

141.  Wild  geese  flying  over  a  rice  field:  iron. 
Signed  by  Ichijo  (see  No.  139t).     Weld  Collection. 

The  season  for  harvesting  rice  is  the  late  autumn, 
and  at  this  time  the  wild  ducks  are  flying  southward. 
Hence  the  rice  fields  and  flying  wild  ducks  are  often 
represented  together. 

142.  Hen  and  chickens:  shibuichi,  various  metal 
inlays.  Signed  by  Ikkin,  pupil  of  Ichijo.  Middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

143.  Dragon  design:  iron,  applied  gold.  Signed 
by  Ikkin  ( see  No.  142 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

144.  Snow  scene,  bird  alighting  on  a  frozen  well : 
shibuichi;  silver,  shakudo,  and  copper  inlay.  Signed 
by  Nobukiyo;  Goto  style.  Dated  1855.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

145.  Dragon  design :  silver,  applied  gold.  Signed 
by  Nobukiyo;  Goto  style.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

146.  Iris  design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Michitaka.  Very  early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 


94  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

147.  Sailboats:  iron.  Choshiu  school.  Third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

148.  Design  of  bean  pods :  iron,  perforated.  Signed 
by  Masakata,  Choshiu  school.  Second  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century.    Lent  by  Miss  Louise  M.  Nathurst. 

149.  Daimyo's  castle  and  water-mill:  iron,  low 
relief  work.  Signed  by  Tomomitsu,  Choshiu  school. 
Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

The  mill  is  a  famous  one  on  the  Yodo  river  near 
Kyoto. 

150.  Tortoise  and  sea-weed  design:  iron,  perfo- 
rated. Signed  by  Masaaki.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

151.  Kioyiu  washing  his  ear  at  a  waterfall:  iron, 
perforated.  By  a  Choshiu  artist  who  practised  the 
Tetsugendo  style.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

Kioyiu  was  a  Taoist  who  considered  his  ears  polluted 
because  he  was  offered  the  throne  of  China. 

152.  Nio  the  two  Guardian  Kings  of  the  Buddhist 
church :  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Kiyoshige.  Early 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

Large  carved  wooden  figures  of  these  deities  are 
usually  placed  one  on  each  side  of  the  gateway  to  a 
temple. 

153.  Chinese  landscape  from  a  Sesshiu  design: 
iron.  Signed  by  Tomohisa,  Choshiu  school.  Mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES.  95 

154.  Grapes  and  squirrels:  iron,  perforated.  Signed 
by  Kawaji.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

155.  Chrysanthemum  design:  iron,  perforated, 
nunome  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Hisatsugu.  Late 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

156.  Spider  and  web  design:  iron.  Signed  by 
Tomokatsu,  Choshiu  school.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

157.  Evening  flower  and  wheel  design:  iron,  per- 
forated. Signed  by  Hisatsugu,  Choshiu  school.  Late 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

158.  A  young  monkey  fleeing  from  an  eagle  :  iron. 
Signed  by  Tomonobu,  Choshiu  school.  Middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

159.  Cow  design:  iron,  perforated.  Choshiu 
school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

160.  Horse  design:  iron,  perforated.  Choshiu 
school.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

161.  Shells:  iron.  Signed  by  Kawaji,  Choshiu 
school.     Late  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

162.  Various  decorative  designs :  iron.  Signed  by 
Tomohisa,  Choshiu  school.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

163.  Pea-fowl  and  peony  design:  iron,  low  relief. 
Signed  by  Koto,  Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


96  JAPANESE    SWORD   GUARDS 

164.  Man  resting  on  the  back  of  a  cow:  shakudo. 
Signed  by  Kiyotaka,  Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

165.  Shikami  design :  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Tomonori,  Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

The  design  of  the  " shikami"  or  "  biting  lion ' '  is 
common  on  armor  bosses  and  helmet  fronts.  It  is 
supposed,  like  the  Gorgon's  head,  to  inspire  terror  in 
the  enemy,  and  is  thus  peculiarly  appropriate  for  a 
tsuba. 

166.  Wave  design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Mitsutaka,  Choshiu  school.  Early  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

167  Carp  and  sea-weed:  iron.  Signed  by  Yu- 
kitoshi,  Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

168.  Iris  design :  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Yu- 
kitoshi,  Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

169.  Orchid  design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Tomonobu,  Choshiu  school.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Lent  by  J.  H.  Donahey. 

170.  Biwa  and  bumble  bee:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Tomotsune,  Choshiu  school.  Early  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

171.  Lotus  design:  iron.  Signed  by  Masayuki, 
Choshiu  school.  First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 


rVESTERN  SERIES  97 

172.  Flower  arrangement:  iron,  perforated,  gold 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Tadayuki,  Choshiu 
style.  Very  early  nineteenth  century.  Lent  by  Mrs. 
Russell  Robb. 

173.  Dragon  design:  iron.  Choshiu  school.  Very 
early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

174.  Monkeys :  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Toshi- 
tsugu,  Choshiu  school.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

175.  Sword  handles  (nakago):  iron,  perforated. 
Choshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

176.  Cormorants  fishing :  iron,  perforated.  Choshiu 
school.  Early  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

177.  Dragon  design  :  iron,  perforated,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Canton  style.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

178.  Plum  flower  design:  iron,  perforated,  gold 
inlay.  Canton  style.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 

179.  Dragons,  treasure  ball,  and  Chinese  character 
in  tendril  design  :  iron,  perforated.  Canton  style.  Sec- 
ond quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.    Ross  Collection. 

180.  Tendrils  and  mythological  animals:  iron  per- 
forated. Canton  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Ross  Collection. 

181.  Lion  and  tendril  design:  iron,  perforated, 
nunome  gold  inlay.  Canton  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 


98  JAPANESE    SWORD   GUARDS 

182.  Landscape:  iron,  perforated,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Canton  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Ross  Collection. 

183.  Conventional  perforated  design:  iron,  gold 
inlay.  Namban  style.  Second  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Ross  Collection. 

184.  Tendril  design:  iron,  perforated.  Namban 
style.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bige- 
low  Collection. 

185.  Fish  and  fish-net  design :  iron,  nunome  gold 
inlay.  Canton  style.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 

186.  The  "Thousand  Horse"  design:  iron,  per- 
forated. Signed  by  Mitsuhiro,  of  Hizen  province. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

187.  Conventional  flower  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Mitsuhiro  (see  No.  186).  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

188.  Cherry  blossom  design:  iron.  Signed  by 
Mitsuhiro  (see  No.  186).     Bigelow  Collection. 

189.  Rice  bags:  iron.  Signed  by  Mitsunari. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

190.  The  "Hundred  Monkey"  design:  iron,  per- 
forated. Signed  by  Mitsuhiro  (see  No.  186).  Bigelow 
Collection. 

191.  Tendril  design:  iron,  inserted  disks  of  silver, 
gold  and  stone.  Canton  style.  Late  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  99 

192.  Dragon  design:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay. 
Namban  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

193.  Bamboo :  shakudo  and  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed 
by  Chikon.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

194.  Crows  and  full  moon  :  shibuichi,  shakudo  and 
silver  inlay.  Rinsendo-Mitsumasa  style.  First  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

195.  Flower  and  leaf  design:  copper,  shakudo  and 
silver  inlay.  Hirazogan  style.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

196.  Wolf  and  rush :  iron,  shibuichi  and  gold  inlay. 
Otsuki  school.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

197.  Hawk,  pine  tree  and  waterfall :  brass.  Signed 
by  Mitsuoki,  Otsuki  school.  Late  eighteenth  to  early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

198.  Man_with  lantern:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Mitsuoki,  Otsuki  school  (see  No.  197).  Bigelow 
Collection. 

199.  Dried  fish:  iron,  silver  inlay.  Signed  by 
Mitsuoki  ( see  No.  197 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

This  particular  fish,  which  is  called  gomame,  is 
dried  and  eaten  with  sauce  on  New  Year's  Day  for 
good  luck. 

200.  The  "Hundred  Horse"  design:  iron,  various 
metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Mitsuoki  (see  No.  197). 
Bigelow  Collection. 


100  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

201.  New  moon  and  stream:  shibuichi,  nunome 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Mitsuoki  ( see  No.  197).  Bigelow 
Collection. 

202.  Demon  beggar:  shibuichi,  gold  and  copper 
inlay.  Signed  by  Mitsuoki  (see  No.  197).  Bigelow 
Collection. 

An  Oni  or  devil  became  converted  to  Buddhism 
and  is  here  represented  as  begging  alms  like  a  holy 
man.  About  his  neck  is  a  ceremonial  bell,  and  in  his 
right  hand  a  mallet  for  sounding  it.  His  left  hand 
holds  a  scroll  for  inscribing  the  gifts  to  the  church, 
and  over  his  back  hangs  a  paper  umbrella. 

203.  Wolf  beside  a  stream :_  shakudo,  gold  and 
silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Hideoki,  Otsuki  school.  Early 
nineteenth  century. 

204.  Storm  dragon:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by 
Hideoki  ( see  No.  203  ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

205.  Fungus:  copper.  Signed  by  Hideoki  ( see  No. 
203 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

206.  Rakan  performing  a  miracle :  iron;  gold,  shi- 
buichi, and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Hidekuni,  adopted 
son  of  Hideoki;  Otsuki  school.  Middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

207.  Snow  on  the  bamboo  leaves:  silver.  Signed 
by  Hidekuni  ( see  No.  206 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  snow-laden  bamboo  is  a  favorite  device  of 
Japanese  artists  for  denoting  the  character  which  yields 
but  never  breaks. 


WESTERN  SERIES  101 

208.  Chohi,  the  strong  voiced  general:  iron,  shi- 
buichi  and  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Hidekuni  (see  No. 
206).     Bigelow  Collection. 

Illustrating  a  Chinese  tale  of  the  general  who  by 
his  terrible  voice  alone  put  an  army  to  flight. 

209.  Soshi,  a  famous  Chinese  philosopher,  and 
butterflies:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by 
Hidekuni  (see  No.  206).     Weld  Collection. 

210.  Farmer  resting  at  evening  time  :  iron,  copper 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Hidekuni  (see  No. 
206).     Bigelow  Collection. 

211.  Two  cows  under  cherry  tree  :  shibuichi.  Ges- 
san,  Otsuki  school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

212.  Stork  and  sunrise:  iron,  silver  and  gold  inlay. 
Gessan  (see  No.  211).     Weld  Collection. 

213.  Dragon  design :  iron,  applied  gold  leaf. 
Signed  by  Atsuoki,  Otsuki  school.  Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

214.  Flying  dragon  design  :  iron,  applied  gold  leaf. 
Signed  by  Atsuoki  (see  No.  213).     Weld  Collection. 

215.  Peony  and  butterfly :  shibuichi;  gold,  silver, 
and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Atsuoki  (see  No.  213). 
Bigelow  Collection. 

216.  Chinese  poet  and  waterfall :  iron,  gold  inlay 
Signed  by  Mitsuhiro,  Otsuki  school.  Second  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  centurv.     Weld  Collection. 


102  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

217.  Tortoise  sunning  on  the  beach:  iron;_gold, 
silver,  and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Atsuhiro,  Otsuki 
school.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

218.  Tiger  and  lightning :  iron,  gold  and  shibuichi 
inlay.  Signed  by  Atsuoki,  Otsuki  school.  Middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

219.  Flying  storks,  pine  tree,  and  sea  beach  :  iron; 
gold,  silver,  and  Shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Atsuhiro, 
Otsuki  school.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

220.  Kanzan  and_Jittoku:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Okishige,  Otsuki  school.  Third  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Collection  (see  note 
on  113). 

221.  Wild  geese  feeding  in  the  moonlight:  iron, 
gold,  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Natsuo,  Otsuki 
school.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

222.  Hawk  and  snow-covered  pine  tree:  iron; 
gold,  silver,  and  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by  Natsuo 
(see  No.  221).     Bigelow  Collection. 

223.  Snowflakes :  iron.  Signed  by  Natsuo  (see 
No.  221).     Bigelow  Collection. 

224.  Iris  :  weathered  wood  surface,  iron,  silver  in- 
lay. Signed  by  Natsuo  (see  No.  221).  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 


WESTERN  SERIES.  103 

225.  Various  designs:  iron,  tempered  by  Miochin 
Muneharu.     Bigelow  Collection. 

These  inlaid  designs  are  by  different  metal  artists, 
assembled  and  inlaid  by  Kano-Natsuo.  They  are  inter- 
esting as  showing  the  work  of  Natsuo' s  contemporaries. 

226.  Fungus  and  orchid  design:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Natsuo  (see  No.  221).     Bigelow  Collection. 

227.  Crayfish :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  b}^  Natsuo 
(see  No.  221 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

228.  Dragon  design :  iron,  shibuichi  and  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Takechika,  Otsuki  style.  Late  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

229.  Sparrows  and  headed  wheat  stalks :  iron,  cop- 
per and  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Masayoshi,  Natsuo 
style.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

230.  Heron  and  lotus  design:  brass;  gold,  ^ilver, 
and  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by  Mitsuhiro,  Otsuki 
school.     Second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

231.  Flower  design:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay. 
Signed  by  Teikan;  Natsuo  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

232.  Chrysanthemums  and  butterflies :  copper,  sha- 
kudo  and  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Teikan;  Natsuo 
style.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 


104  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

233.  Seaweed:  iron,  nunome  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Masahide,  Inshiu  school.  Late  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

234.  Flying  wild  ducks  and  conventional  stream 
design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Suruga  (II?), 
Inshiu  school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

235.  Horned  pout:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by 
Suruga  ( II ? )  (see  No.  234 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

236.  Dragon  design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Yeiju,  an  Osaka  artist.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow   Collection. 

237.  Dragon  design :  iron,  low  relief.  Signed  by 
Yeiju  (see  No.  236).     Bigelow  Collection. 

238.  Dragon  and  cloud :  iron.  Signed  by  Naotake, 
a  Satsuma  artist.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

239.  Howo  bird  and  kirin:  silver,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Rinsendo.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  kirin  is  a  mythological  animal  which  appears 
on  earth  only  at  the  birth  of  a  wise  or  great  man.  It 
is  pictured  with  the  head  of  a  dragon,  the  body  of  a 
deer,  and  the  tail  of  a  lion,  while  from  its  shoulders 
spurt  flames. 

240.  Fouled  anchors  and  rope :  shibuichi,  applied 
gold  leaf.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 


WESTERN  SERIES  105 

241.  Shojo-Doji,  the  boy  sake  drinker:  brass,  cop- 
per inlay  and  applied  gold  leaf.  Modern.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

242.  Clam  and  sparrow  design  (from  Japanese 
story) :  iron,  various  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Mitsu- 
tsugu.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

The  sparrow  is  supposed  to  be  transformed  into  a 
clam.  This  sword  guard  shows  the  sparrows  before 
they  have  been  entirely  transformed. 

243.  Sennin  riding  on  the  back  of  a  carp:  brass, 
incised  and  low  relief.  Signed  by  Teikan.  Third 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

244.  Spray  of  peach  blossoms :  shakudo,  shibuichi, 
and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Katsuhiro;  Natsuo  style. 
Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

245.  Regular  design  of  mother-of-pearl  inlaid  in 
lacquer  over  iron.     Modern.     Bigelow  Collection. 

246.  Conventional  flower  designs :  shibuichi  guard 
covered  with  lacquer,  mother-of-pearl  inlay.  Modern. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

247.  Kiri  crest  design  :  aoi-flower  shape,  lacquered 
copper,  brass  rim.  Early  nineteenth  century  imitation 
of  old  style.     Bigelow  Collection. 

248.  Lacquered  leather  over  iron.  Modern.  Bige- 
low Collection. 


106  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

EASTERN  SERIES 

249.  Conventional  tortoise  shell :  iron,  incised  work. 
Signed  by  Nobuiye.  Sixteenth  century.  Ross  Col- 
lection. 

250.  Cheek-guard  of  a  horse's  bit,  kiri  flower :  iron, 
perforated.  Miochin  school.  Middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.     Weld  Collection. 

251.  Kiri  and  tortoise  shell:  iron.  Miochin-No- 
buiye  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bige- 
low  Collection. 

252.  Conventional  flower  :  iron,  perforated.  Aka- 
saka  school;  Shoyemon  style.  Middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Ross  Collection. 

253.  Fagots:  iron,  perforated.  Akasaka  style. 
Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

254.  Conventional  stream :  iron.  Akasaka  school. 
Middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

255.  Peach  :  iron,  brass  inlay.  Signed  by  Nobuiye 
of  Kyoto ;  Miochin  school.  Second  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  work  of  Nobuiye  of  Kyoto  resembles  more 
closely  that  of  the  Eastern  than  the  Western  schools. 

256.  Rabbits:  iron.  Signed  by  Kuninaga,  Mio- 
chin school.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 


EJSTERN  SERIES  107 

257.  Frogs :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Style  of  Nobuiye  of 
Kyoto.  Second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection  ( see  note  to  No.  255 ). 

258.  Wood-grain  and  axe:  iron,  shakudo  inlay. 
Signed  by  Hiromitsu,  Miochin  school.  Second 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

259.  Wood-grain:  iron.  Miochin  school.  Second 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 

260.  Conventional  flower-bud:  iron,  perforated. 
Akasaka  school.  Second  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury.    Ross  Collection. 

261.  Tea  ceremony  utensils :  iron.  Nobuiye  style ; 
Miochin  school.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

262.  Snake:  iron  perforated.  Miochin  school. 
Late  seventeenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

263.  Wheel:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Mune- 
taka.     Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

264.  Circular  crests:  iron,  perforated.  Odawara 
school.  Second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Lent 
by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

265.  Chinese  characters  in  relief:  iron.  Signed 
by  Yasuiye,  late  Miochin  school.  Dated  1866.  Lent 
by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

266.  Sanscrit  characters:  iron,  perforated.  Signed 
by  Tadanori,  Akasaka  school.  Early  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

These  characters  stand  for  three  Buddhist  divinities 
who  represent  power  and  vitality. 


108  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

267.  Buddhist  gong:  iron.  Signed  by  Yasuiye. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

The  wumpan  is  a  small  flat  bronze  bell  which  is  used 
in  the  Buddhist  church  ritual. 

268.  Arrows:  iron,  perforated.  Akasaka  school. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

269.  Dragon :  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Tadatoki, 
Akasaka  school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

270.  Circular  crest:  iron,  perforated.  Odawara 
style.  Late  eighteenth  to  early  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

271.  Bows:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Miochin  style. 
Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

272.  Basket  work:  iron.  Akasaka  style.  Late 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

273.  Imitation  of  wood-grain:  iron,  shakudo  rim. 
Miochin  school.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

274.  Kiri  crests:  iron,  gold  and  shakudo  inlay. 
Designed  by  Mototoshi;  tempered  by  Miochin- Yasu- 
chika.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

275.  Tortoise-shell:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Setsuju;  MiSchin  style.  Dated  1789.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  109 

276.  Wheel:  iron,  perforated.  Miochin  style. 
Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by 
Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

277.  Frog:  iron.  Signed  by  Sadakiyo.  Miochin 
style.     Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

278.  Grass-blades :  iron,  perforated.  Akasaka  style. 
Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Lent  by 
Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

279.  Bound  wire:  iron,  gold  and  copper  wire. 
Mukade-tsuba.  First  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

"Mukade"  (centipede)  is  the  name  applied  to 
this  type  of  design  on  account  of  its  development  from 
a  representation  of  a  centipede.  No.  280  shows  a  tran- 
sitional stage. 

280.  Bound  wire :  iron,  copper  wire.  Mukade 
style.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Weld  Collection 
(see  note  to  No.  279). 

281.  Butterflies:  iron,  cloisonne  inlay.  Hirata 
school.  Late  seventeenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

282.  Tortoises  and  rocks:  iron,  perforated,  cloisonne 
inlay.  Hirata  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

The  tortoise  is  an  emblem  of  longevity,  being  said 
to  live  ten  thousand  years.  The  Chinese  sages  told 
fortunes  by  the  markings  on  its  back,  and  the  Japanese 
fortune  teller  of  to-day  copies  them  for  his  chart. 


110  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

283.  Conventional  designs:  iron,  cloisonne  inlay. 
Hirata  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

284.  Bound  wire  design:  iron,  brass  and  copper 
wire.  Mukade  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection  (see  note  to  No.  279). 

285.  Flowers :  brass,  cloisonne  inlay.  Hirata  school. 
Late  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

286.  Butterflies  and  beetles:  shakudo,  cloisonne 
inlay.  Hirata  school.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

287.  Cloisonne  work:  shakudo.  Hirata  school. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

288.  Jewel  design:  iron,  cloisonne  work.  Hirata 
school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Collec- 
tion. 

289.  Conventional  storks:  iron.  Kinai  school; 
Echizen  province.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

290.  Stork:  iron.  Kinai  school.  Middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

291.  Acorns  and  autumn  leaves:  iron,  perforated. 
Kinai  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

292.  Chiysanthemum :  iron,  perforated.  Kinai 
school.     Late  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

293.  Dragon:  iron,  perforated.  Kinai  school. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  111 

294.  The  seven  wise  men  of  the  bamboo  grove : 
iron,  perforated.  Kinai  school.  Second  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Seven  famous  Chinese  sages  of  the  sixth  dynasty 
retired  to  a  bamboo  grove  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  in  communion  with  nature  and  in  literary 
work. 

295.  Bamboo:  iron,  perforated.  Kinai  school. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

296.  Rice  stalks:  iron,  perforated.  Kinai  school. 
Early  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

297.  Dragon:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Koki- 
tsune;  Kinai  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

298.  Howo  bird:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Yoji;  Kinai  style.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

The  Howo  bird  is  a  mythological  creature  similar 
in  many  ways  to  the  classical  Phoenix.  It  is  always 
represented  as  a  species  of  peacock,  with  a  fixed 
number  of  feathers  in  the  tail  and  having  eyes  like  an 
elephant's.  It  appears  in  the  world  only  at  long 
intervals,  and  is  an  omen  of  good  fortune. 

299.  Cricket  and  autumn  flowers :  iron,  perforated. 
Kinai  school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

300.  Chinese  baton  and  gold  cord  :  iron,  perforated, 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Aijiu,  Shoami  school.  Third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


112  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

301.  A  monkey  grasping  for  the  reflection  of  the 
moon  on  the  waves :  iron.  Shoami  style.  Late  seven- 
teenth century.     Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

As  a  symbol  of  the  vain  strivings  of  mankind  after 
what  is  but  illusion,  this  scene  points  a  favorite  moral 
of  the  Zen  sect  of  Buddhism. 

302.  Taikobo,  Chinese  sage,  fishing  under  a  wil- 
low: iron,  shakudo  and  copper  inlay.  Shoami  school. 
Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

303.  Fisherman's  boat  at  its  mooring:  iron,  gold 
inlay.  Shoami  school.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

304.  Design  of  old  Chinese  coins  of  the  Ming 
dynasty:  iron,  silver  inlay.  Shoami  school.  Third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

305.  Old  Chinese  coins:  iron,  real  coins  inlaid. 
Shoami  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

306.  Chinese  coins:  iron;  nunome  gold,  silver,  and 
shakudo  inlay.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

307.  Sanscrit  characters :  iron,  silver  inlay.  Signed 
by  Toda,  sword  smith  and  guard  maker.  Owari  prov- 
ince.    Early  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

A  prayer  of  the  Nichiren  sect. 

308.  Chrysanthemums:  iron,  low  relief.  Signed 
by  Iyesada,  Saotome  school.  Early  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 


E J  STERN  SERIES  113 

309.  Shell:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by  Iyesada. 
Early  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

310.  Kiri  and  butterfly:  iron,  perforated.  Signed 
by  Naokatsu,  sword-smith  and  guard  maker;  Kotsuke 
province.  First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bige- 
low Collection. 

311.  Dog  and  bird:  iron,  brass  inlay.  Old  Nara 
school.  Second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Ross 
Collection. 

312.  Wheel,  flowers  and  mantis:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Toshinaga  I,  Nara  school.  Early  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

In  the  Fujiwari  romance,  "Genji  Monogatari,'> 
Genji  rides  in  an  ox-cart  to  visit  his  love  at  dusk.  The 
design  of  this  sword  guard  shows  the  wheel  of  his  cart, 
an  evening  flower,  and  a  winged  insect  called  the 
mantis. 

313.  Dragon  and  cloud  :  silver,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Masanaga,  Nara  school.  Second  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

314.  Daruma  on  the  waves:  iron,  copper  inlay. 
Nara  school.  Early  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

Daruma,  in  one  of  the  Chinese  stories,  comes  from 
India  across  the  waters  on  a  bundle  of  rushes. 

315.  Jar:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay  in  relief. 
Yasuchika  style,  Nara  school.  First  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


114  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

316.  Imitation  of  leather:  brass.  Signed  by  Yasu- 
chika  (see  No.  315).     Weld  Collection. 

317.  Illustration  of  a  mythological  tale:  iron,  gold 
and  silver  inlay.  Nara  school.  Middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  design  represents Takenouchi-Sukune  receiving 
a  treasure  ball  from  the  sea-god. 

318.  The  three  vinegar  tasters:  copper;  gold, 
silver,  and  shakudo  inlay.  Nara  school.  Middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  three  masters  of  philosophy,  Buddha,  Confucius 
and  Laotse,  once  gathered  about  a  pot  of  vinegar. 
Buddha,  as  he  tasted,  said,  "It  is  bitter, "  Confucius, 
"  It  is  sour,"  Laotse,  "It  is  sweet,"  thus  illustrating 
their  respective  views  of  existence. 

319.  Inhabitants  of  the  Indies:  iron,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Toshinaga  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

These  figures  are  taken  from  an  illustration  in  a 
Japanese  Encyclopedia  published  during  the  early  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

320.  Dragon:  shakudo;  brass,  pewter,  and shibuichi 
inlay.  Signed  by  Yasuchika  (VI?).  Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

321.  Chinese  seal  of  the  Han  dynasty:  copper. 
Signed  by  Yasuchika.  First  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

322.  Cow  feeding  under  a  willow  near  a  stream  : 
iron,  gold  inlay.  Nara  school.  First  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Ross  Collection. 


EASTERN   SERIES  115 

323.  White  elephant  with  treasure  ball  on  its  back : 
iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Yasuchika. 
First  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

The  elephant  is  not  native  to  Japan,  and  early 
representations  of  it  are  far  from  accurate.  About 
1729  one  was  sent  from  Siam  as  a  present  to  the 
Shogun,  and  it  seems  likely  that  this  animal  furnished 
Yasuchika  with  a  model  for  the  present  design. 

324.  Watonai  or  Koxinga,  a  famous  hero  of  great 
strength  encountering  a  tiger :  brass,  gold  and  crystal 
inlay.  Signed  by  Tsuneshige.  Middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Weld  Collection. 

325.  Imitation  of  leather  work  and  old  coins:  cop- 
per, shakudo  and  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by  Yasu- 
chika. First  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

This  type  of  design  is  known  as  Namban  style. 
The  background  is  very  cleverly  made  to  imitate  the 
texture  of  leather  by  dexterous  use  of  the  chisel. 

326.  No  mask:  iron,  copper  inlay.  Nara  style. 
Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

327.  Peony  and  butterflies  :  iron,  gold  and  shakudo 
inlay.  Nara  school.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

328.  Crayfish :  iron,  copper  inlay  in  high  relief. 
Nara  school.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 


116  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

329.  Gourd  vine:  iron;  gold,  silver,  and  copper 
inlay.  Old  Nara  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

330.  One  of  the  Nio  or  "Two  Kings"  who  guard 
Buddhist  temples,  and  flying  pigeon :  iron ;  gold,  silver, 
and  copper  inlay.  Nara  school.  Very  early  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

331.  Heron  and  water  flower:  iron,  gold  and  silver 
inlay.  Nara  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

332.  Sennin  and  dragon:  iron,  perforated,  gold 
and  copper  inlay.  Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

333.  Wolf  howling  at  the  moon :  iron,  gold  and 
silver  inlay.  Nara  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

334.  Dragon  appearing  before  two  Rakan:  iron, 
gold  and  silver  inlay.  Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

335.  Gama-Sennin :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Jowa,  Nara 
school;  iron  tempered  by  Miochin  Nobunichi.  Third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

Gama-Sennin  is  a  mountain  recluse  always  depicted 
in  company  with  a  three-legged  frog. 

336.  Tengu  of  the  forest:  iron;  silver,  brass,  and 
copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Shozui  (died  1769) ;  Nara 
school.     Weld  Collection. 

The  mountain-demons  are  surprised  from  their  re- 
treats by  a  cloud  of  rare  incense.     This  is  probably  a 


EASTERN  SERIES  117 

sarcastic  reference  to  professors  of  incense  ceremony, 
who  were  very  prevalent  at  the  time. 

337.  A  man  riding  on  a  catfish:  iron;  gold,  silver, 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Shozui  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

"  Catching  a  catfish  with  a  gourd"  is  a  common 
Japanese  expression  for  trying  to  reach  the  unattainable. 
The  catfish  is  elusive  and  the  gourd  difficult  to  force 
under  water.  This  theme  is  not  an  uncommon  one 
in  Japanese  art. 

338.  Dragon:  brass.  Tsuneshige  style.  Middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

339.  Heron  on  a  notice  board  under  a  willow  tree : 
iron,  silver  inlay.  Shozui  style.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

340.  Shoki  (the  Demon  Oueller)  riding  on  a  lion : 
iron,  gold  inlay.     Signed  by  Joi.     Dated  1761. 

341.  Bamboo:  brass.  Joi  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

342.  Old  farmer  snaring  a  fox:  shakudo,  gold  and 
copper  inlay.  Shozui  style.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

343.  Three  monkeys  seated  on  a  rock:  iron,  gold 
and  copper  inlay.  Shozui  style.  Third  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

A  popular  reminder  of  the  teaching,  "Thou  shalt 
neither  hear,  see,  nor  speak  evil." 


118  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

344.  Mask  of  Sh5jo,  a  No  character,  and  rush: 
iron,  gold  and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Shozui.  Third 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

345.  Salt  kilns  by  the  seashore:  brass,  shibuichi 
inlay.  Signed  by  Norinobu,  Nara  school.  Very  late 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

In  earlier  times  salt  was  produced  by  evaporating 
sea  water  on  the  rocks  or  in  vessels.  The  present 
design  represents  Shiogama,  a  place  famous  for  its  salt 
industry. 

346.  Genji  general  on  horseback:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Shozui.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

The  combination  of  bas-relief  with  full  relief  is 
noteworthy  (see  No.  340). 

347.  Landscape  with  traveler  approaching  a  sum- 
mer house :  iron,  gold  inlay.  Nara  style.  Third  quar- 
ter of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

348.  Pine  tree  and  cuckoo:  brass,  various  metal 
inlays.  Signed  by  Nagaharu  (Joi).  Middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

349.  Shinno:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Joi  (see 
No.  348).     Weld  Collection. 

Shinno  was  a  famous  Chinese  emperor,  the  first  to 
gather  herbs  and  leaves  for  use  in  medicine. 

350.  Rakan  and  a  dragon:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay. 
Joi  style  ( see  No.  348 ).     Weld  Collection. 


E J  STERN  SERIES  119 

351.  Chidori  (plover)  and  old  piling:  iron,  shi- 
buichi  inlay.  Signed  by  Norinobu,  Nara  school. 
Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelovv  Collection. 

352.  Herons  flying  through  the  rain,  rushes  below: 
iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Kazuaki  (dated 
1865).     Bigelow  Collection. 

353.  Momotaro  and  his  dog,  illustration  from  boys' 
story:  iron,  gold  and  shibuichi  inlay.  Nara  school. 
Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

Momotaro  is  a  favorite  character  in  Japanese  folk- 
lore. 

354.  Gourd  vine  growing  through  an  old  broken 
board:  iron,  gold  and  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by 
Yasuchika  III.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

355.  Plum  tree:  iron.  Signed  by  Kunitaka;  de- 
signed by  Yasuchika  III.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

356.  Deer  and  flying  bat,  fungus  on  the  reverse: 
iron,  gold  and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Yurakusai- 
Akabumi.  Late  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

The  names  of  the  animals  here  shown,  together 
with  that  of  the  fungus  on  the  obverse  of  the  guard, 
united  give  the  name  of  one  of  the  Gods  of  Good 
Luck,  Fukurokuju,  Fuku  being  the  Chinese  word  for 
bat,  roku  the  word  for  deer,  and  ju  the  word  for  im- 
mortality as  symbolized  by  the  fungus. 


120  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

357.  Lizard  climbing  over  an  old  wall :  iron.  Nara 
school.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

358.  Rinwasei,  a  Chinese  sage,  and  his  favorite 
stork:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

359.  Shoki  chastising  a  demon:  shibuichi,  gold  and 
copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Nara-Nobuchika.  Middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

360.  Omori  helping  a  female  demon  over  a  river 
ford:  shibuichi,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by 
Noriyuki,  Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

361.  A  sparrow  perched  on  a  hoe  handle:  iron, 
gold  and  copper  inlay.  Nara  style.  Third  quarter  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

362.  Ritaihaku  gazing  upon  a  waterfall :  shibuichi, 
gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Kaneyuki  (died 
1776),  Nara  school.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Ritaihaku  was  a  famous  Chinese  poet  of  the  Tang 
period,  600-900,  the  favorite  theme  of  whose  song  was 
the  cascade  of  the  Lu  mountains. 

363.  Stork  and  fleeing  pigmies :  shibuichi,  various 
metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Nobuyoshi.  First  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

364.  Toad:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Yasuyuki, 
Nara  school.  Very  early  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 


<t 


EASTERN  SERIES  121 

365.  The  Chinese  Emperor  Bunno:  shibuichi, 
various  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Naoyuki,  Nara 
school.     Late  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

Bunno  was  an  emperor  of  the  Chow  dynasty  who 
believed  that  music  was  mightier  than  the  sword,  and 
subdued  by  its  aid  the  nomad  tribes. 

366.  Spider:  iron,  shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by 
Miboku,  Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth  century. 
Lent  by  Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

367.  Monkeys  playing  under  waterfall :  iron,  cop- 
per and  nunome  gold  inlay.  Nara  style.  Second 
quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

368.  Plum  tree:  iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Nara 
school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

369.  The  lion  dance  by  children :  shakudo,  gold 
and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Yoshitane,  Nara  school. 
Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

370.  Chidori  (plover)  and  waves:  copper,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Nagamasa,  Nara  school.  Second 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

371.  Chinese  children  at  play:  shibuichi;  gold, 
silver,  and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Haruchika, 
Nara  school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

372.  Yoritomo  hiding  in  a  hollow  tree:  shibuichi; 
gold,  silver,  shakudo,   and  copper  inlay.     Signed  by 


122  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

Yoshinaga,  Nara  school.     Early  nineteenth   century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

After  the  defeat  of  Yorimoto  by  the  Oba  family  he 
was  forced  to  hide  in  a  hollow  tree.  His  pursuers 
tracked  him  to  the  spot,  but  when  a  bird  flew  out  at 
their  approach  they  thought  it  useless  to  search  there 
for  him. 

373.  Bamboo  design:  copper,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Nagamasa.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

374.  Fudo  and  attendants :  shibuichi,  various  metal 
inlays.  Signed  by  Yasuchika  IV,  Nara  school.  Early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Fudo,  the  Immovable,  rising  out  of  the  devouring 
fire,  symbolizes  the  power  of  self-conquest.  He  is 
represented  with  a  cord  in  his  left  hand,  with  which 
he  binds  desire,  and  a  sword  in  his  right,  with  which 
he  cleaves  sin.     Kongo  and  Seitaka  attend  him. 

375.  Lotus  design:  iron;  gold,  silver,  and  copper 
inlay.  Signed  by  Mitsunaka ;  Nara  style.  Very  early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

376.  Octopus:  copper,  gold  inlay.  Nara  style. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

377.  Shoki  in  a  rain  storm,  Oni,  or  demon,  bring- 
ing him  high  clogs  and  an  umbrella :  shibuichi,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Yoshitane,  Nara  school.  Second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  123 

378.  Temple  gate  (torii)  and  cedar  tree:  iron, 
silver  and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Nampo,  Kikugawa 
school.     Dated  1792.     Bigelow  Collection. 

379.  Omi  Hakkei  (eight  views  of  Lake  Bivva)  : 
iron,  gold  and  copper  inlay.  Nampo  style.  Late 
eighteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

380.  Eagle  and  wave  design:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay. 
Nara-Toshinaga  style.  Early  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

381.  The  evening  flower,  moth  and  cart  wheel: 
shibuichi,  several  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Nagayuki, 
Nara  school.  Late  eighteenth  century  (see  No.  321 ). 
Bigelow  Collection. 

382.  Benten  with  sword  and  sacred  gem:  brass, 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Masachika,  Nara  school.  Mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

383.  Fish  and  bamboo  design:  shibuichi,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Hironaga.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

384.  Old  gardener  teasing  a  snail  with  smoke  from 
his  pipe:  shakudo,  gold  and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by 
Hironaga  (see  No.  383).     Bigelow  Collection. 

385.  Snake  and  graveyard  palings:  iron,  copper 
relief.  Signed  by  Hironaga;  iron  tempered  by  Sa- 
danaga  (see  No.  383).     Weld  Collection. 

386.  The  "One  Hundred  Sparrow"  design  .'shi- 
buichi, gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Hirochika.  Early  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


124  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

387.  Landscape  showing  mountain  temple:  shi- 
buichi;  gold,  silver,  and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by 
Hironaga  (see  No.  383).     Bigelow  Collection. 

388.  Traveller  on  his  way  to  a  mountain  retreat: 
iron,  gold  inlay.  Hironaga  style.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Weld  Collection. 

389.  Princess  praying  to  the  stars,  from  a  Chinese 
legend:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Hisanaga 
or  Yeiju.  Late  eighteenth  to  early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

390.  Chrysanthemum  design:  iron.  Signed  by 
Hisanaga  (see  No.  389).     Weld  Collection. 

391.  "The  Spirit  of  the  Pine,"  scene  from  a 
favorite  No  opera:  iron,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Nobu- 
yoshi,  Nara  school.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

392.  Eagle,  sparrows  and  peony  design :  shibuichi 
and  gold.  Signed  by  Moritoshi;  Nara  style.  Third 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

393.  Peony  design :  shakudS.  Signed  by  Atsutaka ; 
Nara  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

394.  A  Japanese  courtier  (?)  viewing  the  Yoro 
waterfall:  iron,  various  metal  inlays.  Iwamoto-Kon- 
kwan.     Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  unusual  treatment  of  the 
waterfall,  by  which  the  artist  has  attempted  to  produce 
an  effect  of  motion. 


EJSTERN  SERIES  125 

395.  See  No.  319:  shibuichi,  gold  and  copper  in- 
lay. Signed  by  Konkwan  (see  No.  394).  Bigelow 
Collection. 

396.  Eel  and  eel  grass:  iron,  shibuichi  and  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Ikkwan,  Iwamoto  school.  First 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank  Jewett 
Mather,  Jr. 

397.  Oni  and  plum  tree:  iron,  gold  and  silver  in- 
lay. Signed  by  Kwanri.  Second  half  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

398.  Tendril,  figure  and  butterfly  design:  iron, 
nunome  gold  inlay.  Namban  style.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Weld  Collection. 

399.  Turtle  design:  iron.  Signed  by  Goto-Seijo. 
Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 

400.  Shell:  iron.  Signed  by  Kiyohide.  Second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

401.  Dragon:  iron.  Seijo  school.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

402.  Cloud  and  wave  design:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Seijo  school.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

403.  Peony  design:  iron,  silver  inlay.  Signed  by 
Mitsunaka;   dated  1847.     Bigelow  Collection. 

404.  Peacock  design :  shakudo,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Yoshioka-Inabanosuke.  Second  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


126  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

405.  Kiri  design  and  autumn  flowers:  shakudo, 
gold  inlay.  Goto  style.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Weld  Collection. 

406.  Chrysanthemum  and  dragon:  shakudo,  gold 
inlay.  Goto  style.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

407.  Heron  and  chestnut  tree  design:  iron,  per- 
forated, gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Fusuhisa; 
Goto  style.  -  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

408.  Melon  vine  and  butterfly  design:  perforated 
iron,  gold  nunome  inlay.  Signed  by  Tsunemasa; 
Goto  style.  Early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

409.  Howo  and  Kiri  design:  iron,  shakudo  and 
gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Masayuki;  Goto  style.  Late 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank  Jewett 
Mather,  Jr. 

410.  Conventional  design:  shibuichi.  Signed  by 
Mitsunaga;  Goto  style.  Second  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Weld  Collection. 

411.  Old  lion  and  cub:  shibuichi,  incised  work. 
Signed  by  Soyo  II,  Yokoya  school  (died  in  1779). 
Bigelow  Collection. 

412.  Fukujo  and  demon:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Somin  II,  Yokoya  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

Fukujo,  the  goddess  of  good  fortune,  is  here  repre- 
sented as  throwing  beans  to  drive  off  the  Oni,  or  evil 


EASTERN  SERIES  127 

spirits.  It  is  the  custom  in  Japanese  houses  annually 
to  exorcise  the  Oni  by  throwing  a  handful  of  beans  at 
each  wall  in  turn,  and  repeating  the  charm,  "Fuku- 
wa-uchi,  Oni-wa-soto "  (in  with  the  good  luck,  out 
with  the  ill ). 

413.  Shoki:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by 
Tsunekatsu;  Yokoya  style.  Middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

414.  Fish  and  seaweed:  shakudo,  gold  and  shi- 
buichi inlay.  Signed  by  Tsunekatsu  (see  No.  413). 
Weld  Collection. 

415.  Eagle:  shakudo,  shibuichi  and  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Tomokatsu ;  Yokoya  style.  Early  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

416.  Butterflies:  shakudo,  various  metal  inlays. 
Signed  by  Nobushige,  Kikuoka  school.  Early  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

417.  Persimmon :  _  shakudo,  applied  gold  leaf. 
Signed  by  Yoshinaga,  Omori  school.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

418.  Eagle  and  waterfall:  shakudo,  silver  inlay, 
applied  gold  leaf.  Signed  by  Jochiku.  Second  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

419.  Flying  wild  geese  at  night:  shibuichi,  gold 
and  silver  inlay.  Omori  style.  Middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

420.  Lotus  leaf  and  snail  design :  shibuichi.  Signed 
by  Tomohide.     Dated  1810.     Bigelow  Collection. 


128  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

421.  Gourd  vine  and  butterfly:  shibuichi;  gold, 
silver,  copper,  and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Mitsu- 
toki,  Omori  school.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

422.  Chidori  (plover)  and  wave  design:  iron,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Terutomo,  Omori  school.  Early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

423.  Sparrow  on  a  hanging  flower-shell :  shakudo, 
various  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Teruaki,  Omori 
school.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

424.  Wave  design:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Teruhide,  Omori  school.  Late  eighteenth  to  early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

This  tsuba  is  a  good  example  of  skilled  workman- 
ship. The  raised  parts  in  many  places  are  completely 
undercut  by  the  chisel.  Teruhide  was  the  inventor  of 
this  style  of  undercutting. 

425.  Dragon  design:  iron,  applied  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Terumitsu.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

426.  Pine  tree  and  crescent  moon :  brass.  Signed 
by  Teruaki.  Second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

427.  Carp  design:  iron.  Signed  by  Hidetomo. 
Early  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

428.  Fungus  design :  copper  and  shakudo.  Omori 
school.  First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  129 

429.  Leaf  design :  shakudo,  perforated,  gold  inlay. 
Omori  style.  First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

430.  Dragon  design:  iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay 
around  edge.  Omori  style.  Early  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

431.  Plum  blossoms:  iron,  various  metal  inlays. 
Omori  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

432.  Dragon  design:  iron.  Omori  style.  Early 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

433.  Rat :  shibuichi.  Omori  style.  Third  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

434.  Lion  and  peony  design :  iron ;  gold,  silver,  and 
shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Naomasa  (died  1757),  Yana- 
gawa  school.     Weld  Collection. 

The  Japanese  lion  is  an  imaginary  beast,  probably 
of  Chinese  or  Korean  origin,  called  Shishi,  the  king  of 
animals.  It  is  often  associated  with  the  peony,  the 
queen  of  flowers. 

435.  Bishamon  and  mukade  (centipede):  iron, 
copper  inlay.  Signed  by  Naoharu,  Yanagawa  school. 
Late  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

436.  Zen  temple  dinner  gong:  shibuichi,  gold  in- 
lay. Signed  by  Haruaki  (died  1859 ).  Lent  by  Frank 
Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

A  wooden  gong  in  the  form  of  a  fish  is  struck  with 
a  mallet  in  Zen  temples  to  call  the  student-monks  to 
meals. 


130  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

437.  Cow-herd  playing  flute:  iron;  gold,  silver,  and 
shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Haruaki  (see  No.  436). 
Bigelow  Collection. 

438.  Fruit  of  the  biwa  tree:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Akiyoshi,  a  pupil  of  Haruaki.  Middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

439.  Plum  tree  and  flying  bird:  iron,  gold  and 
shibuichi  inlay.  Haruaki  style.  Middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

440.  Old  tree  and  spider's  web:  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Yanagawa  style.  Second  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    Bigelow  Collection. 

441.  Old  tree  swarming  with  ants:  iron,  gold  and 
shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Hirotoshi.  Second  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

442.  Old  piece  of  wood  and  gourd  vine :  iron,  gold 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Yanagawa  style.  Second  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

443.  Narihira  traveling  to  the  East:  iron,  various 
metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Masatsune,  Ishiguro  school. 
Late  eighteenth  to  early  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

Narihira  was  a  nobleman  and  poet  of  the  ninth 
century.  He  is  famous  for  having  celebrated  in  rhyme 
his  journey  from  Kyoto  to  Musashi  province. 

444.  Sparrow  and  rice  stalk :  shakudo,  copper  inlay. 
Signed  by  Masayoshi,  Ishiguro  school.  Second  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  131 

445.  Cherry  tree:  shibuichi,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Masayoshi  (  see  No.  444 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

446.  Pheasant  and  peony  design :  shakudo,  gold 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Koreyoshi.  Third 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

This  is  a  very  good  example  of  nanako  or  fish  roe 
chisel  work.  Although  no  guide  of  any  kind  is  used, 
the  small  indentations  are  executed  with  wonderful 
precision. 

447.  Kwannon  riding  on  a  dragon's  head:  iron, 
gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Toriusai-Kiyotoshi. 
First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

448.  Plum  and  bamboo  design:  copper;  gold,  sil- 
ver, and  shakudo  inlay.  Toriusai  school  (see  No.  447). 
Bigelow  Collection. 

449.  Pheasant  in  a  cherry  tree,  his  mate  below: 
shakudo,  gold,  silver  and  copper  inlay.  Signed  by 
Yoshinobu,  Toriusai  school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

450.  Peony  and  plum  flower  design  :  shakudo  and 
silver  ground ;  gold,  silver,  and  copper  inlay.  Signed 
by  Harunaga,  Toriusai  school.  Middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

451.  Moon  rising  out  of  the  mist:  iron,  gold  in- 
lay. Signed  by  Toshiaki,  Toriusai  school.  Dated 
1860.     Bigelow  Collection. 

452.  Maple  leaves  and  cherry  flower:  iron,  gold 
inlay.  Signed  by  Hidenaga,  Toriusai  school.  Third 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


134  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

470.  Dragon  emerging  from  the  waves  :  iron,  gold 
and  shakudo  inlay.  Signed  by  Tsuju  (died  1768), 
Mito  school.     Bigelow  Collection. 

471.  Famous  Chinese  characters:  shakudo,  various 
metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Sekijoken-Mototaka,  Mito 
school.  Late  eighteenth  to  early  nineteenth  centuries. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

The  son  of  an  emperor  of  the  late  Han  dynasty  and 
two  famous  generals,  who,  meeting  in  a  peach  orchard, 
pledged  themselves  to  restore  the  Emperor's  power. 

472.  Cow  grazing  under  a  pine  tree:  iron,  perfo- 
rated, gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Sekijoken-Mototaka, 
Mito  school  (see  No.  471 ).     Weld  Collection. 

473.  Howo  birds:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Tomoyoshi,  Hitotsuyanagi  family;  Mito  school. 
Middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

474.  Carp  ascending  a  waterfall :  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Yoshihisa,  Koami  family.  Second  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

The  persistence  of  the  carp,  flinging  himself  again 
and  again  up  the  cataract  till  at  last  he  succeeds,  is  a 
moral  often  pointed  in  Japanese  art. 

475.  Shoki  chastising  an  Oni,  or  demon:  iron,  per- 
forated, gold  inlay.  Mito  school.  Late  eighteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

476.  Fish,  stream,  and  waterrlower  design :  iron, 
gold    inlay.       Signed    by   Tomoyoshi,    Mito    school. 


EASTERN  SERIES  135 

Third   quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.      Lent  by 
Frank  Jewett  Mather,  Jr. 

477.  Yorimitsu  guided  by  a  Mountain  God :  sha- 
kudo,  various  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Yoshimori, 
Mito  school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 

This  guard  with  the  one  below  make  a  pair.  No. 
477  was  used  on  the  dai  or  large  sword,  No.  478  on  the 
sho  or  small  sword.  It  was  customary  for  a  samurai  to 
wear  two  swords,  one  large  and  one  small. 

478.  Demon  guardians  at  the  giant's  gate :  shakudo, 
various  metal  inlays.  Signed  by  Yoshimori  ( see  No. 
477).     Bigelow  Collection. 

Oyeyama  ( mountain )  in  Tamba  province  was  the 
abode  of  an  evil  giant  who  frequently  descended  to 
Kyoto  and  bore  away  fair  maidens  and  much  treasure. 
Minamoto  Yorimitsu  was  ordered  by  the  emperor  to 
put  a  stop  to  these  outrages.  With  a  few  faithful  fol- 
lowers, dressed  as  Yamabushi  (  pilgrim  priests ),  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  mountain,  where,  under  the  guidance  of 
a  mysterious  being,  he  discovered  and  killed  the  giant 
in  his  stronghold. 

479.  Flying  wild  goose  design :  copper,  shibuichi 
inlay.  Signed  by  Katsuhira,  Mito  school.  Second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Weld  Collection. 

480.  Tiger  defying  the  elements :  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Sorin,  Yegawa  school.  Late  eighteenth  to 
earry  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 


136  JAPANESE  SWORD   GUARDS 

481.  Chrysanthemum  design:  shakudo.  Signed 
by  Toshihide,  Yegawa  school.  First  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

482.  Fudo  (the  Immovable):  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Motomasa,  Mito  school.  Second  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  Lent  by  Frank  Jewett 
Mather,  Jr. 

483.  The  moon  and  its  reflection  on  the  waves: 
iron,  gold  and  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Motosada. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

484.  Lioness  and  cubs:  shibuichi,  gold  and  sha- 
kudo inlay.  Signed  by  Yasuyo,  Mito  school ;  Nara 
style.  First  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 

It  is  commonly  told  in  Japan  that  the  lioness  takes 
her  newly-born  cubs  to  the  top  of  a  cliff  and  pushes 
them  off.  The  weaklings  are  dashed  to  pieces,  while 
the  hardier  climb  up  and  join  their  parent. 

485.  Birds  and  plum  tree:  shakudo,  gold  and 
shibuichi  inlay.  Signed  by  Katsuhira,  Mito  school. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow  Col- 
lection. 

486.  The  God  of  Thunder  spreading  devastation: 
copper,  gold  inlay.  Signed  by  Hokusen,  Mito  school. 
Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld  Col- 
lection. 

487.  Bamboo  design:  iron,  perforated.  Signed  by 
Shoami-Denshichi.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Bigelow  Collection. 


EASTERN  SERIES  137 

488.  Lion  and  peony  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Masatsune,  Ito  school.  Dated  1833.  Bige- 
low  Collection. 

489.  Susuki  rush  and  full  moon:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Masakata,  Ito  school.  Second  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

490.  Cottage  gate  and  pine  tree :  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Masatoyo,  Ito  school.  Early  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

491.  Chrysanthemums  in  flower  basket:  iron,  per- 
forated. Signed  by  Hashimoto-Seisai ;  Ito  style.  First 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

492.  Howo  and  leaf :  iron.  Signed  by  Hashimoto- 
Seisai  (see  No.  491 ).     Bigelow  Collection. 

493.  Leaf  design:  iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Masakata,  Ito  school.  Second  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Lent  by  J.  H.  Donahey. 

494.  Icho  and  maple  leaf  design :  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Masachika,  It5  school.  Second  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

495.  Fish  and  bamboo  design:  iron,  perforated. 
Signed  by  Hashimoto-Seisai  (see  No.  491).  Weld 
Collection. 

496.  Cherry  blossom  and  waves :  iron,  gold  inlay. 
Signed  by  Masanaga.  Ito  school.  Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

497.  Flying  wild  ducks  and  crescent  moon :  iron, 
perforated,  silver  inlay.  Signed  by  Sunagawa-Masanori. 
Middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Bigelow  Collection. 


138  JAPANESE    SIVORD   GUARDS 

498.  Pine  tree :  iron,  perforated,  gold  inlay.  Signed 
by  Masaharu,  Ito  school.  Middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century.     Bigelow  Collection. 

499.  Representation  of  stream  and  floating  cherry 
flowers:  shibuichi  and  shakudo.  Signed  by  Yoji. 
Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Bigelow 
Collection. 

500.  Irregular  design:  shakudo  and  other  metals. 
Yoji  style.  Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Weld  Collection. 

501.  Imitation  lacquer  work:  shakudo  and  cop- 
per. Third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Weld 
Collection. 


INDEX 


NAMES   OF  SCHOOLS 


Akao,    p.    32,   Nos.  457,  458,   459, 

460. 
Akasaka,  pp.   23,  31,  66,  Nos.  254, 

260,  266,  268,  269. 
Aoki,  pp.  33,  37. 
Awa,  p.  33,  Nos.  105,  106,  107,  108. 

Ch5shiu    (Hagi),   pp.   33,   42,    Nos. 

•  147,  148,  149,  151,  153,  156,  157, 
158,  159,  160,  161,  162,  163,  164, 
165,  166,  167,  168,  169,  170,  171, 
172,   173,   174,  175,  176. 

Daigoro  Tsuba,  p.  34. 

Fushimi,  pp.  23,  35. 

Gokinai  Tsuba,  p.  34. 
Goto,  pp.  26,  35,  40,  43,  45,  46,  53, 
60,  64,  72. 

Hagi,  see  Choshiu,  p.  33. 
Heianjo,  pp.  35,  37,  Nos.  20,  21. 
Higo,  pp.  23,  31,  32,  35,  38,  No.  16. 
Hirata,   pp.   23,  39,   Nos.    281,  282, 

283,  285,  286,  287,  288. 
Hoan,  pp.  22,  39. 
Hosono  Masamori  Style,  p.  40. 

Ichinomiya,  pp.  24,  40,  No.  114. 
Inshiu,  p.  42,  Nos.  233,  234. 
Ishiguro,  pp.   25,  43,  68,   Nos.  443, 

444. 
Ito,  pp.  43,  66,   Nos.  488,  489,  490, 

493,  494,  496,  498. 
Iwamoto,  pp.  44,  No.  396. 

Jakushi,  p.  45. 

Kaga,  p.  45. 
Kanayama,  p.  46. 
Kaneiye,  pp.  46,  70. 


Kasutsura  Style,  p.  48. 

Kikugawa,  No.  378. 

Kikugawa  Family,  p.  48. 

Kikuoka  Family,  p.  49. 

Kinai,  p.  49,  Nos.  289,  290,  291,  292, 

293,  294,  295,  296,  299. 
Ko-Nara,  p.  56,  No.  311. 

Miochin,  pp.  24,  39,  50,  63,  Nos.  1, 
3,  250,  [255,  256,  258,  259,  261, 
262,  265,  273. 

Mito,  pp.  25,  52,  58,  Nos.  466,  467, 
468,  469,  470,  471,  472,  473,  475, 
476,  477,  479,  482,  484,  485,  486. 

Mukade  Tsuba,  p.  54. 

Nakai,  p.  34. 

Namban,  Kannan  (Kagonami)  or 
Canton  Tsuba,  p.  54. 

Nara,  pp.  24,  25,  53,  55,  60,  61,  72, 
Nos.  312,  313,  314,  315,  317,  318, 
322,  327,  328,  330,  332,  334,  335, 
345,  351,  353,357,  358,  360,  362, 
364,  365,  366,  368,  369,  370,  371, 
372,  374,  377,  381,  382,  391,  392. 

Nomura  Family,  see  Goto  School. 

Odawara,  p.  60,  No.  264. 

Old  Nara,  p.  56,  No.  311. 

Omori,  pp.   60,  61,   Nos.   417,   421, 

_422,  423,  424,  428. 

Otsuki,  pp.   26,  61,    Nos.   196,   197, 

198,  203,  206,  211,  213,  216,  217, 

218,  219,  220,  221,  230. 

Rinsendo  Family,  p.  72. 

Sado,  p.  63. 

Saotome,  p.  63,  Nos.  60,  61,  62,  308. 
Seijo,  p.  64,  Nos.  401,  402. 
Sekijoken,  p.  53. 


142 


NAMES  OF  SCHOOLS 


Shoami,  pp.    33,  64,   Nos.   130,   131, 

132,  300,  302,  303,  304. 
Soten,  p.  65,  Nos.  83,  84,  86. 
Sunagawa,  p.  66. 

Tanaka,  p.  37. 

Tanaka  Family,  see  Goto  School. 

Tempo  Tsuba,  p.  67. 

Tetsugendo,  p.   67,    Nos.    117,   118, 

122,  123. 
Tojibata  Tsuba,  p.  68. 


Toriusai,  p.  68,  Nos.  448,  449,  450, 
451,  452,  453,  454,  455,  456. 

Umetada,  pp.  24,  43,  64,  69,  Nos.  44, 
45,  46,  47,  49,  54,  56,  57,  58,  59. 

Yamakichi,  p.  22. 

Yanagawa,  pp.  43,  71,  72,  Nos.  434, 

435. 
Yegawa,  Nos.  480,  481. 
Yokoya,  pp.   25,  44,  49,  53,  54,  61, 

70,  Nos.  411,  412,  413. 


NAMES   OF  ARTISTS. 


Aijiu,  No.  300. 
Akabumi,  p.  58. 
Akao-Tahichi,  No.  464. 
Alciyoshi,  No.  438. 
Aoki-Tsunekumo,  p.  37. 
Ariaki,  p.  52. 
Aritsune,  p.  48,  No.  116. 
Atsuhiro,  Nos.  217,  219. 
Atsuoki,  Nos.  213,  214,  215,  218. 
Atsutaka,  No.  393. 

Bikio,  No.  100. 

Chikon,  p.  42,  No.  193. 
Chiubei,  p.  44. 
Chizuka-Hisanori,  pp.  48,  60. 
Chobi,  p.  41. 
Chokuzui,  p.  59. 

Dai'riusai,  see  Mitsuoki,  p.  62. 
Dennai,  p.  65. 
Doko,  see  Jakushi,  p.  45. 
Donin,  p.  39. 

Echizen-no  Daijo,  see  Nagatsune, 
p.  40. 

Fukoshi,  see  Jakushi,  p.  45. 
Funada-Ikkin,  p.  36. 
Furukawa  Genchin,  p.  71. 
Furukawa-Yoshinaga,  p.  40. 
Fusayoshi,  pp.  23,  38. 
Fusuhisa,  No.  407. 

Gassan,  see  Gessan,  p.  62. 
Geishiu-Nobuiye,  p.  51. 
Gessan,  p.  62,  Nos.  211,  212. 
Gorobei,  p.  34. 

Got5-Ichijo,  pp.  26,  36,  No.  139. 
Goto-Kenjo,  p.  46. 
Goto-Seijo,  p.  64,  No.  399. 
Goto-Yiujo,  p.  36. 


Hakuhotei,  see  Konkwan,  p.  44. 

Hamano-Shozui,  p.  58. 

Haruaki,  pp.  26,  72,  Nos.  436,  437. 

Haruchika,  No.  371. 

Harumitsu,  see  Seijo  VI,  p.  64. 

Harunaga,  No.  450. 

Harunari,  p.  39. 

Haruyoshi,  p.  40. 

Hashimoto-Seisai,   p.    44,    Nos.    491, 

492,  495. 
Hideaki,  p.  43. 
Hidekuni,  p.  62,  Nos.  206,  207,  208, 

209,  210. 
Hidenaga,  p.  68,  No.  453. 
Hideoki,  Nos.  203,  204,  205. 
Hidetomo,  p.  61,  No.  427. 
Hideuji,  p.  61. 
Hideyoshi,  p.  61. 
Hikobei,  p.  69. 

Hikojiuro,  see  Tadatoki,  p.  31. 
Hinochoji,  see  Hino  Yoji,  p.  41. 
Hino  Yoji,  pp.  22,  41. 
Hirochika,  No.  386. 
Hirokuni,  p.  67. 
Hiromitsu,  No.  258. 
Hironaga,  p.  25,  Nos.  383,  384,  385, 

387,  463. 
Hirotoshi,  Nos.  397,  441. 
Hiroyuki,  p.  59. 
Hisahide,  p.  48. 
Hisanaga,  No.  390. 
Hisanaga,  see  Takase-Yeiju,  p.  53. 
Hisanaga,  or  Yeiju,  No.  389. 
Hisatsugu,  Nos.  155,  157. 
Hitotsuyanagi-Tomoyoshi,  p.  54. 
Hoan,  p.  39. 
Hokusen,  No.  486. 
Horiye-Okinari,  p.  60. 
Hosono-Masamori,  p.  40,  No.  109. 

Ichijo,  Nos.  140,  141. 
Ichiwo,  p.  70. 


144 


NAMES  OF  JRT1STS 


Ikkin,  Nos.  142,  143. 
Ikkwan,  No.  396. 
Ikuhei,  p.  38. 

Inagawa-Naokatsu,  pp.  71,  72. 
Issando,  see  Sugiura-J6i,  p.  57. 
Itsuriuken,    Miboku,    see   Hamano- 

Shozui,  p.  58. 
Ito-Masatsune,  p.  44. 
Iwama-Masayoshi,  p.  59. 
Iwamoto-Konkwan,  No.  394. 
Iwamoto-Riokwan  II,  p.  44. 
Iyemichi,  p.  63. 
Iyemitsu,  p.  63. 
Iyenori,  p.  63. 

Iyesada,  p.  63,  Nos.  308,  309. 
Iyetsugu,  p.  63,  No.  69. 

Jakushi,  pp.  24,  45. 

Jakushi  II,  p.  45. 

Jingo,  p.  38. 

Jingoro,  see  Ito-Masatsune,  p.  44. 

Jochiku,  No.  418. 

Joi,  pp.  24,  25,  53,  58,  No.  349. 

Jotetsu,  p.  42. 

Jowa,  p.  58. 

Juyei,  p.  55. 

Kaga-Nobuiye,  p.  51. 

Kaneiye,  pp.  20,  22,  23,  26,  46,  47, 

50,  62. 
Kaneiye  I  (?),  No.  30. 
Kaneiye  II,  p.  47,  Nos.   31,  32,  33, 

35,  41. 
Kanemori,  p.  65. 
Kanenobu,  p.  40. 
Kanenori,  p.  65,  No.  84. 
Kanesada,  p.  47. 
Kaneshige,  p.  68. 
Kanetane,  p.  65. 
Kaneyasu,  p.  40. 
Kaneyuki,  p.  58,  No.  362. 
Kankei,  see  Hamano-Shozui,  p.  58. 
Kano-Natsuo,  pp.  26,  62,  No.  225. 
Kanpei,  p.  38. 
Kanshiro,  p.  38. 


Kasutsura,  pp.  48,  68. 
Katsuhiro,  Nos.  244,  479,  485 
Katsumitsu,  p.  38. 
Katsura-Nagatoshi,  p.  71. 
Kawaji,  Nos.  154,  161. 
Kawamura-Tsuneshige,  p.  58. 
Kawarabayashi-Hideoki,  p.  62. 
Kazuaki,  No.  352. 
Kazutsura,    see    Uyesugi-Kasutsura,. 

p.  48. 
Kiami,  p.  67,  No.  93. 
Kichiji,  p.  32. 
Kikubori-Chobei,    see   Muneyoshi,, 

p.  48. 
Kikuchi-Tsunekatsu,  p.  71. 
Kinai,  p.  49. 
Kiriusai-Somin,  p.  71. 
Kiriusai-Soyo,  p.  71. 
Kishi,  p.  38. 
Kitagawa-Soten,  p.  65. 
Kiyohide,  No.  400. 
Kiyo-Sada,  p.  42. 
Kiyoshige,  No.  152. 
Kiyotaka,  No.  164. 
Kiyoyasu,  p.  42. 

Kizayemon,  see  Jakushi  II,  p.  45. 
Koami,  p.  53. 
Kogitsune,  p.  49,  No.  297. 
Konkwan,  pp.  25,  44,  No.  395. 
K5no-Haruaki,  pp.  25,  26. 
Koretsune,  p.  43. 
Koreyoshi,  p.  43,  No.  446. 
Kosei,  see  Horiye-Okinari,  p.  60. 
Koshiu-Miochin,  see  Nobuiye,  p.  50. 
Koten,  p.  47. 
Koto,  No.  163. 
Koto,  see  Yukinori,  p.  34. 
Kuniharu,  p.  67. 
Kuninaga,  p.  46,  No.  256. 
Kunitaka,  No.  355. 
Kuse,  see  Noriyuki  II,  p.  59. 
Kuzui,  see  Noriyuki,  p.  59. 
Kwanri,  p.  45. 
Kyo-Nobuiye,  p.  51. 


NAMES  OF  ARTISTS 


J45 


Masaaki,  p.  43,  No.  150. 
Masachika,  pp.  33,  59,  66,  Nos.  382, 

494. 
Masaharu,  No.  498. 
Masahide,  p.  43,  No.  233. 
Masakage,  No.  456. 
Masakata,  Nos.  148,  489,  493. 
Masakatsu,  p.  61. 
Masakuni  I,  p.  61. 
Masakuni  II,  p.  61. 
Masamitsu,  p.  43. 
Masanaga,  Nos.  313,  496. 
Masanobu,  pp.  33,  58. 
Masanori,  pp.  64,  66,  No.  497. 
Masaoki,  p.  62. 
Masashige,  p.  65. 
Masatoki,  p.  37. 
Masatomo,  p.  34. 
Masatora,  pp.  31,  66. 
Masatoyo,  No.  490. 
Masatsugu,  pp.  33,  60,  72. 
Masatsune,  Nos.  443,  488. 
Masatsune  I,  pp.  43,  44. 
Masatsune  II,  p.  43. 
Masayasu,  p.  33. 
Masayoshi,    pp.   37,   43,    59,   61,    66, 

Nos.  229,  444,  445. 
Masayuki,  Nos.  171,  409. 
Matahichi,  p.  65. 
Matahichi,  see  Fusayoshi,  p.  38. 
Miboku,  see  Hamano-Shozui,  p.   58, 

No.  366. 
Michitaka,  No.  146. 
Miidera-Ichirobei,  p.  61. 
Mikaye-Teremitsu,  p.  71. 
Miochin  Muneharu,  p.  52,  No.  225. 
Miochin  Nobunichi,  p.  51,  No.  335. 
Miochin  Yasuchika,  No.  274. 
Miojiu,  p.  69. 
Mitsuhaya,  p.  67. 
Mitsuhiro,  p.  62,  Nos.  186,  187,  188, 

190,  216,  230. 
Mitsuhiro  I,  p.  55. 
Mitsuhiro  II,  p.  55. 
Mitsumasa,  p.  49. 


Mitsunaga,  No.  410. 

Mitsunaka,  Nos.  375,  403. 

Mitsunao,  p.  62. 

Mitsunari,  No.  189. 

Mitsuoki,  pp.  26,  62,  Nos.  197,  198, 

199,  200,  201,  202. 
Mitsutaka,  No.  166. 
Mitsutoki,  No.  421. 
Mitsutoyo,  see  Goto  Seijo,  p.  64. 
Mitsutsugu,  No.  242. 
Mitsutsune,  p.  62. 
Mitsuyoshi,  p.  62. 
Mitsuyuki,  p.  49. 
Morikuni,  p.  65,  No.  129. 
Morimura-Atsutaka,  p.  37. 
Morisada,  p.  46. 
Morishige,  p.  68. 
Moritoshi,  No.  392. 
Motohiro,  p.  62. 
Motomasa,  No.  482. 
Motosada  No.  483. 
Mototaka,  p.  53. 
Mototomi,  p.  65. 
Mototoshi,  Nos.  19,  274. 
Muneaki,  see  Sosatsu,  p.  51. 
Muneharu,  p.  52. 
Munenobu,  p.  51. 
Muneshige,  p.  69. 
Munesuke,  pp.  24,  50,  51. 
Munetaka,  p.  52,  No.  263. 
Munetane,  p.  52, 
Munetoshi,  p.  52. 
Muneyoshi,  p.  48. 
Murakami- Jochiku,  p.  42. 

Nagafusa,  p.  33. 

Nagahara,  see  Sugiura  Joi,  p.  57. 

Nagaharu  (Joi),  No.  348. 

Nagahide,  p.  33. 

Nagamasa,  p.  59,  Nos.  370,  373. 

Nagatsune,  pp.  24,  25,  26,  40,  62,  68, 

No.  110. 
Nagayoshi,  p.  41. 
Nagayuki,    see   Yeizui,    p.   59,    Nos. 

381,  468. 


146 


NAMES  OF  ARTISTS 


Nampo,  p.  25. 

Nampo,  see  Chizuka-Hisanori,  p.  48, 

No.  378. 
Naofusa,  p.  68,  Nos.  122,  123. 
Naoharu,  pp.  25,  72,  No.  435. 
Naohisa,  p.  72. 
Naokata,  p.  68. 
Naokatsu,  p.  52,  No.  310. 
Naomasa,  p.  72,  No.  434. 
Naomichi,  p.  68. 
Naomitsu,  pp.  43,  72. 
Naoshige,  No.  117. 
Naotomo,  p.  68,  No.  238. 
Naotsune,  p.  43. 
Naoyuki,   see   Chokuzui,  p.  59,  No. 

365. 
Nara-Juyei,  p.  57. 
Nara-Nobuchika,  No.  359. 
Nara-Toshinaga,  p.  55. 
Narihisa,  p.  39. 
Narikado,  p.  39. 
Narikadzu,  p.  39. 
Narishige,  p.  69. 
Narisuke,  p.  39. 
Naritsugu,  p.  69. 
Nariyuki,  pp.  25,  39. 
Natsuo,  pp.  26,   31,  46,   56,   57,  62, 

Nos.  221,  222,  223,  224,  226,  227. 
Nobuaki,  p.  51. 
Nobuiye,  pp.  22,  23,  47,  50,  51,  62, 

Nos.  249,  255. 
Nobuiye  II,  see  Ujiiye,  p.  50. 
Nobukiyo,  Nos.  144,  145. 
Nobumasa,  p.  34. 
Nobumichi,  p.  51. 
Nobusada,  p.  51. 
Nobushige,  No.  416. 
Nobuyoshi,  p.  59,  Nos.  363,  391. 
Nobuyuki,  pp.  58,  59. 
Nomura-Kanenori,  p.  66. 
Norinobu,  see  Noriyuki  II,  p.  59,  Nos. 

345,  351. 
Norisada,  p.  64. 
Noriyishi,  p.  66. 
Noriyuki,  p.  59,  No.  360. 


Okamoto-Naoshige,  p.  67. 
Okitata,  p.  62. 
Otaka-Hironaga,  p.  66. 
Otsuki-Korin,  p.  61. 

Rinsendo,  No.  239. 
Riukudo,  see  Mitsuoki,  p.  62. 
Riyei,  see  Toshinaga,  p.  55. 

Sadanaga,  p.  40,  No.  385. 

Sadasune,  No.  113.  ,, 

Sanzayemon,  p.  63. 

Seibei,  p.  38. 

Sekiguchi-Riojka,   see   Kawamura- 

Tsuneshige,  p.  58. 
Sekijoken-Mototaka,  p.  58,  Nos.  471, 

472. 
Sekij5ken-Taizan-Mototaka,see   Mo- 

totaka,  p.  53. 
Seijo  VI,  p.  64. 
Seijo  Mitsuzane,  p.  64. 
Sessai,  see  Seijo  VI,  p.  64. 
Setsuju,  p.  52,  No.  275. 
Setsuzan,  see  Nagatsune,  p.  40. 
Shigechika,  p.  79. 
Shigefusa,  p.  38. 
Shigeharu,  see  Fusayoshi,  p.  38. 
Shigehisa,  p.  38. 
Shigekata,  p.  39. 
Shigemitsu,  pp.  38,  61. 
Shigemoto,  p.  68. 
Shigenaga,  p.  69. 
Shigenari,  p.  69. 
Shigesada,  p.  65. 
Shigetaka,  p.  69. 
Shigetsugu,  p.  38,  No.  48. 
Shigetsune,  p.  65. 
Shigeyoshi,  Nos.  44,  45,  69. 
Shinjo,  p.  37. 
Shinsuke-Yasuchika,  see  Yasachiha  IV 

p.  59. 
Shiunchin,  see  Seijo  VI,  p.  64. 
Shiunsho,  see  Konkwan,  p.  44. 
Shiuten,  p.  65. 
Shiwundo,  see  Mitsuoki,  p.  62. 


NAMES  OF  ARTISTS 


147 


Shoami-Denshichi,  No.  487. 
Shoraku,  see  Okamoto  Naoshige,  p. 

67. 
Shoyemon,  see  Tadamasa,  p.  31. 
Shozui,  pp.  25,   53,   58,   59,   60,  Nos. 

336,  344,  346. 
Sh5zuibo,  see  Iwama-Masayoshi,  p.  59. 
Soheishi,  see  Kitagawa  Soten,  p.  65. 
Soken,  p.  66. 

Somin,  pp.  36,  54,  71,  No.  412. 
Somi»II,  p.  71. 
Sorin,  No.  480. 

Sorin,  see  Yegawa-Toshimasa,  p.  54. 
Sosatsu,  pp.  24,  51. 
Soten,  p.  66,  Nos.  72,  73,  74. 
Soyo,  pp.  54,  71. 
Soyo  II,  p.  71. 
Soyo  III,  No.  411. 
Suguira-Joi,  p.  57. 
Sukeshige,  p.  72. 
Suruga,  p.  42. 

Suruga  (II?),  No.  234,  235. 
Suzuki-Seibei,  No.  20. 

Tadafusa,  No.  99. 
Tadamasa,  pp.  23,  31. 
Tadamasa  II,  p.  31. 
Tadanori,  No.  266. 
Tadasaku,  p.  49. 
Tadasugu,  Nos.  67,  68. 
Tadatsuke,  p.  72. 
Tadatoki,  p.  31,  No.  269. 
Tadayuki,  Nos.  115,  172. 
Tahichi,  p.  32. 
Taizan-Motonori,  p.  53. 
Takanaga,  pp.  40,  62. 
Takase-Yeiju,  p.  53. 
Takatsune,  p.  64. 
Takechika,  No.  228. 
Takenori,  p.  68. 
Takeshima-Kadzutoshi,  p.  37. 
Takuji,  p.  43. 
Tanabe-Tomomasa,  p.  72. 
Tanaka-Sobei  II,  p.  55. 
Tanaka-Toriusai-Kiyotoshi,  p.  68. 


Tansai,  p.  33? 

Tansuishi,  No.  91. 

Tatsumasa,  pp.  55,  56. 

Tatsunaga,  Nos.  457,  459,  460,  461, 

462. 
Tatsutoshi,  p.  32. 
Teijo,  p.  37. 

Teikan,  Nos.  231,  232,  243. 
Teruaki,  Nos.  423,  426. 
Teruchika,  p.  48. 
Teruhide,  p.  61,  No.  424. 
Terukiyo,  p.  48. 
Terukiyo  I,  p.  71. 
Terukiyo  II,  p.  71. 
Terumitsu,  p.  61,  No.  425. 
Terutomo,  No.  422. 
Tetsugendo-Seiraku,    see    Okamoto- 

Naoshige,  p.  68,   No.  119. 
Tetsunin,  p.  48. 
Tobari-Tomihisa,  p.  37. 
Toda,  No.  307. 
Tokujo,  p.  36. 

Tokurio,  see  Noriyoshi,  p.  66. 
Tomohide,  No.  420. 
Tomohisa,  p.  34,  Nos.  153,  162. 
Tomokatsu,  pp.  24,  34,  Nos.  156,  415. 
Tomomichi,  p.  34. 
Tomomitsu,  p.  34,  No.  149. 
Tomonaga,  No.  467. 
Tomonobu,  p.  34,  Nos.  158,  159. 
Tomonori,  No.  165. 
Tomotsugu,  p.  33. 
Tomotsune,  pp.  24,  34,  No.  170. 
Tomoyoshi,  p.  53,  Nos.  469,  473,  476. 
Tomoyuki,  pp.  34,  58. 
Toriusai,  p.  68. 
Toriusai-Kiyotoshi,  No.  447. 
Toshiaki,  No.  451. 
Toshiharu,  p.  55. 
Toshihide,  p.  68,  No.  481. 
Toshikage,  p.  68. 
Toshimasa,  pp.  54,  59. 
Toshimune,  p.  55. 
Toshinaga,  pp.  24,  25,  36,  53,  55. 
Toshinaga  I,  p.  58,  No.  312. 


148 


NAMES  OF  ARTISTS 


Toshinaga  II,  p.  56.        * 

Toshisada,  p.  63. 

Toshiteru,  p.  55. 

Toshitsugu,  No.  174. 

Toshiyuki,   see   Okamoto   Naoshige, 

p.  67. 
Towu,  see  Tsuchiya-Yasuchika,  p.  56. 
Tsuchiya-Kunichika,  p.  59. 
Tsuchiya-Yasuchika,  p.  56. 
Tsuji-Mitsumasa,  p.  72. 
Tsujiu,  p.  53. 
Tsujo,  p.  36. 
Tsuju,  No.  470. 

Tsuki-Mitsuoki,  see  Mitsuoki,  p.  62. 
Tsunayoshi,  p.  65. 
Tsuneari,  p.  37. 
Tsunechika,  p.  59. 
Tsunefusa,  p.  71. 
Tsunekatsu,  Nos.  413,  414. 
Tsunekiyo,  p.  37. 
Tsunemasa,  p.  71,  No.  408. 
Tsunemitsu,  p.  71. 
Tsunenao,  p.  41. 
Tsunenari,  p.  72. 
Tsuneoki,  p.  71. 
Tsuneshige,  No.  324. 
Tsuneyoshi,  p.  37. 
Tsu-Zimpo,  p.  37. 

Ujiiye,  pp.  46,  50. 
Ujino,  p.  33. 
Ujiyasu,  p.  33. 
Umetada,  No.  57. 
Umetada- Ichiwo,  No.  55. 
Umetada-Masatomo,  p.  34. 
Umetada- Mioju,  p.  34. 
Umetada-Shigeyoshi,  p.  23. 
Uyesugi-Kasutsura,  p.  48. 

Yamada-Ichirohei,  p.  55. 
Yamakichi,  p.  70. 
Yamakichibei,  p.  70. 
Yanagawa-Naomitsu,  p.  49. 
Yasuchika,  pp.  24,  25,  26,  36,  53,  57, 

60,  62,  Nos.  316,  321,  323,  325 
Yasuchika  II,  p.  57. 


Yasuchika  III,  pp.  58,  59,   Nos.  354, 

355. 
Yasuchika  IV,  pp.  58,  59,  No.  374. 
Yasuchika  V,  p.  59. 
Yasuchika  VI,  p.  60. 
Yasuchika  (VI?),  No.  320. 
Yasufusa,  p.  33. 
Yasuiye,  p.  52,  Nos.  265,  267. 
Yasuiye,  see  Nobuiye,  p.  50. 
Yasunobu,  p.  57. 
Yasutsugu,  p.  49. 
Yasuyo,  No.  484. 
Yasuyuki,  No.  364. 
Yegawa-Toshimasa,  p.  54. 
Yeiju,  p.  25,  Nos.  236,  237. 
Yeirakudo,  p.  45. 
Yeizui,  p.  59. 
Yenjo,  p.  37. 

Yiumeishi,  see  Soken,  p.  66. 
Yoji,  Nos.  298,  499. 
Yoji,  see  Tomotsugu,  p.  33. 
Yokoya-Somin,  pp.  24,  40,  49. 
Yokoya-Soyo,  p.  44. 
Yoritada,  p.  38. 
Yoshiaki,  p.  37. 

Yoshihisa,  pp.  53,  63,  Nos.  466,  474. 
Yoshikawa-Kanetane,  No.  83. 
Yoshikuni,  pp.  46,  62. 
Yoshimichi,  p.  50. 
Yoshimori,  Nos.  477,  478. 
Yoshinaga,  pp.  50,  53,  69,   Nos.  372, 

417. 
Yoshinobu,  No.  449. 
Yoshinori,  p.  46. 
Yoshioka-Inabanosuke,  No.  404. 
Yoshiro,  pp.  22,  42. 
Yoshishige,  p.  46. 
Yoshitake,  p.  65. 
Yoshitane,  Nos.  42,  369,  377. 
Yoshitsugu,  pp.  32,  46,  49. 
Yukinori,  p.  34. 
Yukitoshi,  Nos.  167,  168. 
Yiirakusai,    see    Akabumi,    p.    58, 

No.   356. 

Zekiiniudo,  see  Mitsuoki,  p.  62. 


No  2     Kiri  and  gourd    Kanayama  style 
Late  sixteenth  century 


Noll 

Sword  and 

biwa 

Higo  school 

Middle  of  the 

seventeenth 

century 


No  13 
Pine  tree 

and 

sailboat 

Higo  school 

Early  eighteenth 

century 


No  14 

Plum  tree 

Fusayoshi  style 

in  Higo 

Early  eighteenth 

century 


No  18 

Crest 

Hoan  style 

Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  19 

Thunder  god 
Nagasone  and 

Mototoshi 
Middle  of  the 

seventeenth 
century 


No  23 

Canton 

influence 

Heianjo  style 

hate  seventeefith 

century 


No  25 

Butterflies 

Heia?ijo  style 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  26 

Turnips 

Heianjo  style 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  27 
Monkeys  on  a 

pine  tree 

Heianjo  style 

Late 

seventeenth 

century  * 


No  28 

Mouse  and 

straw  rope 

curtain 

Heianjo  style 

Late 

seventeenth 

century 


No  29 

Spinning  reels 

Heianjo  style 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  32 
Signs  of  the 

Zodiac 

Kaneiye  II 

Early  seventeenth 

century 


No  40 

Wild  geese 

Kaneiye  style 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  50 

Chrysanthemum 

and  cherry 

blossom 
Tadatsugu  style 
Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  59 

Datice  bells 

Umetada  school 

hate  nineteenth 

century 


No  67 
Flower  and  poem 

design 

Tadatsugu 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  74 

Chinese 

figures  and 

landscape 

Soten 

Early 

eighteenth 

century 


No  80 

P/um  tree  and 

stork 

Soten  style 

Early  eighteenth 

century 


No  88 

Inro  and 

tobacco  pouch 

Kyd-tsuba 

Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  90 

Conventional 

Aoi  leaf 

Kyd-tsuba 

Third  quarter 

of  the  eighteenth 

century 


No  101 

Scree?i  design 

Nunome  inlay  by 

Kiyotoki 
Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  103 

Dragonfly 

Nunome  inlay 

Joy  en  style 

Kyoto 

Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  123 

Shiu-kaido  flower 

design 

Naofusa 

Late  eighteenth 

cejitnry 


No  126 

Dragonflies 

Tetsugendo  style 

Early  ni?ieteenth 

century 


No  140 

Heron  and  rush 

Goto-Ichijo 

Dated  1850 


No  147 

Sailboats 

Choshiu  school 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth 

century 


No  148 

Bean  pods 

Choshiu  school 

Second  half  of  the 

seventeenth  century 


No  154 
Grapes  and 

squirrels 

Kawaji 
Second  half 

of  the 
eighteenth 

century  _ 


No  157 

Evening  flower 

and  wheel 

Hisatsugu 

Second  half 

of  the  eighteenth 

century 


No  172 

Flower 
arrangement 

Tadayuki 

Choshiu  style 

Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  179 

Tendril 

design  with 

dragons  etc. 

Canton  style 

Second 

quarter 

of  the 

eighteenth 

century 


No  185  - 

Fish  and  fish-net 

design 

Canton  style 

Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  198 

Man  with 

lantern 

_Mitsuoki 

Otsuki  school 

Late  eighteenth 

to  early 

nineteenth 

century 


No  224 

Iris  flower 

Kano-Natsuo 

Third  quarter  of  the 

nineteenth  century 


No  250 
Horse's  bit  with 

kiri  flowers 

Miochin  school 

Middle  of  the 

seventeenth 

century 


No  253 

Fagots 
Akasaka  style 
Second  quarter 

of  the 
eighteenth  century 


No  254 

Conventional 

stream 

Akasaka  school 

Middle  of  the 

seventeenth  century 


No  255 

Peach 

Nobuiye  of  Kyoto 

Second  half  of  the 

seventeenth 

century 


No  256 

Rabbits 

Kuninaga 

Miochin  style 

Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  264 

Crests 

Odawara  school 

Second  half  of  the 

seventeenth  century 


No  266 

Sanscrit 
characters 

Tadanori 
Akasaka  school 
Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  267 
Buddhist  gong 

Yasuiye 

Middle  of  the 

nineteenth  century 


No  276 

Wheel 

Miochin  style 

Second  half  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  280 

Mukade  tsuba 

(centipede 

design) 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  281 

Cloisonne  inlay 

on  iron 

Hirata  school. 

Late  seventeenth 

century 


No  282 

Cloisonne  inlay 

on  iron 

Tortoises  and  rocks 

Hirata  school 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  289 

Storks 

Kinai  school 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  291 

Acorn  and 

autumn  leaves 

Kinai 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  292 
Chrysanthemum 

Kinai  school 
Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  307 

Sanscrit  characters 

Toda 

Early  eighteenth 

century 


No  310 
Kiri  and 

butterfly 
Naokatsu 
First  half 

of  the 
nineteenth 

century 


No  316 

Imitation  of 

leather 

Yasuchika 

Nara  school 

First  half  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


iV*  320 
Dragon  and  gold 

characters 
Yasuchika(FIf) 

Middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century 


No  323 

Elephant  with 

treasure  ball 

Yasuchika 

First  half  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  336 

Tengu  of  the  forest 

Shozui 

Nara  school 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  356 

Fukurokuju  (deer 

and  bat) 

Yurakusai 

Nara  school 

Late  eighteenth 

century 


No  357 

Lizard  climbing  a  wall 

Nara  school 

Third  quarter  of  the 

eighteenth  century 


No  366 
Spider 
Miboku 
Nara  school 
Late  eighteenth 
century 


No  375 
Lotus  design 
Mitsunaka 
Nara  style 
Very  early 
nineteenth 

century 


No  384 

Old  gardener  and  snail 

Hironaga 

Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  399 

Turtle 

Goto-Seijo 

Middle  of  the 

eighteenth  ce?itury 


No  422 

Plover  and  waves 

Terutomo 

Omori  school 

Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  432 

_  Dragon 

Omori  style 

Early  nineteenth 

century 


No  436 
Temple  dinner  gong 

Haruaki 
Yanagawa  school 
First  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century 


No  457 
Swallows  and 

waves 

Akao  school 

Middle  of  the 

nineteenth  century 


No  463 

Bamboo 

Hironaga 

Sunagawa  style 

Second  quarter 

of  the  nineteenth 

century 


No  489 

Susuki  rush  and 

full  moon 

Masakata 

ltd  school 

Second  quarter 

of  the  nineteenth 

century 


No  495 

Fishes  and 

ha?nboo 

Has/iimoto-Seisai 

First  half 

of  the  nineteenth 

century 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
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